Finding Yourself
by Emolicious Angel
Summary: Valkyrie is 18, and in love with her mentor skulduggery who is completely oblivious and doesnt feel the same. They continue to fight evil while Valkyrie does her best to hide her feelings, how will he react if he finds out? M for possible later chapters
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, it's been ages since ive written anything. It's been so long that I decided to start again, so as sad as it made me I had to delete my old stories to start afresh. **

**I used to have a story which started pretty much the same, but I have re-written it to help get past my current craving for some Valkyrie and Skulduggery romance/angst.**

**I do plan to continue on with this story, so please read and review, as it really does encourage me :)**

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><p>Valkyrie sighed in frustration and she once again adjusted her hair, picking at the one strand which would not stay in the right place. She had spent the last ten minutes trying to tame the annoying strand but of course it just didn't want to work. With a few angry mumbles under her breathe she located a tube of hair gel from the cupboard and squeezed a small amount onto her fingers, using it to move the piece into its rightful place. She smiled at the mirror happily and turned around, satisfied.<p>

She wandered into her room and closed the door, turning to lock to save herself the embarrassment of having a certain someone walk in while she was getting changed. Today was her 18th birthday, and against all of her protests, Tanith had decided that she had to have a huge birthday party at Gordon's house, which was now of course her house. She unbuttoned her shirt, which she had put on for convenience, and took off her bra, followed by her jeans and underwear.

Although the door was locked and the curtains were closed she still felt somehow exposed, standing naked in her old room, with Skulduggery waiting for her downstairs. She quickly pulled on her new, lacy black underwear and bra, and then carefully stepped into the dress Tanith was making her wear tonight. It was black and tight, hugging her body nicely. A few years ago she might have had a problem with that, but now she was almost as fit as Tanith, and was quite happy with her body, although her chest was nowhere near as big as her best friends.

The dress came only to mid-thigh, and she did her best to pull it lower. She sat on the bed and pulled on her tight leather boots, that came to just below her knee's, and after one last look in the mirror she unlocked her door and walked down the hall to the stairs. Skulduggery was waiting at the bottom, his back to her. She felt her cheeks heat up a little at the sight of him, and prayed that the blush on her cheeks would help to hide it. She walked casually downstairs, her shoulders slightly hunched as she reached the skeleton detective.

Skulduggery turned around and took a moment to look her over, well at least that's what she thought he was doing, it was hard to tell because he had no eyes, but the slight tilt of his head made it seem like it. After a moment he put his gloved hands on her shoulder and pushed them up straight, so she was no longer hunching. He tilted his head to the side, and though she wasn't sure, she thought he was smiling. "You look wonderful." He said, a hint of something in that velvet voice of his, she thought it was pride, but there was no way to be sure.

She smiled, embarrassed, and tried to let her shoulders fall again, but he quickly corrected them before stepping back. "Stand up straight, or Tanith will think you don't want to be there." He said before heading towards the door, his steps smooth and fluid, like they always were. She followed him, a frown on her face as they stepped out of the door and she locked it with the key her mother had given her. "But I don't want to be there." She said, giving him a look as they made their way over to the Bentley.

"Neither do I particularly, but I am such an amazing person that I am attending anyway, giving everyone the chance to appreciate my pure genious for a night." She rolled her eyes as he opened the door for her and carefully lowered herself in. Her dress rode up a little and she quickly hurried to fix it, keeping her eyes away from him as he closed the door and came around to the other side of the car.

"I know what your trying to say, I should be a good friend and at least try to have some fun for Tanith."

"That's not what I said at all actually, but it's good that you got some kind of message from my words, even if it was the wrong one." She chuckled and hit him on the arm. Although she usualy acted like she hated it when he spoke like that she really didn't, and today just seemed like the right kind of day to just let him have his fun.

"So what took you so long to get dressed?" He asked, turning his head to glance at her. "It took a lot longer than usual."

"Well in case you haven't noticed, this dress is tight Skulduggery, and it wasn't exactly the easiest thing to get on, and Tanith pretty much left an instruction manual on how to dress! She even chose my underwear, I have no idea how she even knows what once I own, but somehow she knew." She quickly shut her mouth when she realised she was talking about her underwear to skulduggery and looked out the window.

He cleared his throat (Not that he needed to) and kept his eyes forward. "Well, I can see how that must have been a challenge for you, not having to pick your own clothes. I pity you and the great tragedies you go through every day." She snorted, very unattractive, and shook her head.

They soon arrived at the party, and when she opened the door to get out of the car she could hear the music coming from inside her new home, loud and sharp. She had no idea what was playing, but she knew Tanith must have picked it. "Are you ready?" She asked.

"Not in the slightest." He replied, reaching into his shirt to tap the marks on his collar bones. Soon his skeletal grin was replaced by a new face, slightly tanned skin, green eyes and brown hair. She shuddered as she looked at him. "That still creeps me out a little." She said.

He looked at her curiously, and with the spell she didn't need to guess, she could see it on his 'face' clear as day. "Do you not like it?" He asked, reaching back up. "I could switch to something different." She shook her head and grabbed his arm.

"No that's not what I mean. I meant, it's weird that it changes everytime, always something different, I mean, just once I'd like to see your real face, the one you had before…" She trailed off and blushed a little, letting go. Skulduggery didn't notice of course, he never did. Some detective he was.

"Anyway it doesn't matter. Let's go." She said opening the front door. The music assaulted her ears as they stepped in the door, and she noticed Skulduggery's gloved hands twitch, and she knew he wanted to reach up and cover his ears. He hated the music Tanith listened to, and she felt a little bad that he would have to listen to it for the whole party, but he didn't complain, just smiled as Tanith came over to meet them.

She had a cup in her hand with something clear in it that looked like water, but judging from the slight sway in her step it wasn't actually water. 'Hey guys!" She said happily, leaning forward to hug Valkyrie. "Happy birthday Val! I left your present in the kitchen." She turned on Skulduggery, a glare on her face. "And I told you to have her here on time!"

He shrugged. "Apparently she was having trouble with the underwear you picked for her. Maybe some more convenient ones next time." Valkyrie felt her jaw drop as skulduggery walked away. Obviously he meant nothing by that, but she still couldn't believe he'd said that. Why would he talk about her underwear? She turned to Tanith, her embarrassment clear on her face.

Valkyrie had never directly told Tanith how she felt about her mentor, but the older girl had figured out, and now her eyes were filled with sympathy. "Still oblivious huh?" she asked as they watched him walk up the stairs, presumably to go talk to Gordon.

"Yep." She said, looking away and back at Tanith. Valkyrie had introduced Tanith to her parents already, but she hadn't introduced Skulduggery. They were around the party somewhere, but there was enough people present that they wouldn't question his being there if they did see him.

Tanith handed her a drink. "Here Val, this will make it go away." She said with grin as Valkyrie sipped at the alcoholic beverage. "At least for tonight, just make sure you stay away from Skulduggery, drunk people tend to blurt there secrets."

Valkyrie chuckled. "Well I definitely wouldn't want to do that." She said before downing the drink in one. Everything after that became a blur of drinks, dancing, music and a lot of falling over.

When Valkyrie woke up her head felt like it was splitting apart, her mouth was drier than an ashtray and she felt like she was going to be sick. "Oh god." She groaned, rolling over under the blankets, her stomach protesting angrily. "Ow my head. What the hell happened last night?" She asked herself, bringing up her hand to rub at her eyes.

"I believe you drunk yourself silly and passed out about half an hour after the party ended." Said a smooth quiet voice across the room. She yelped and then clutched at her head, the noise like daggers piercing her skull. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes and looked over to see skulduggery leaning against the back of the closed bedroom door, his hands in his pockets and his hat on his head, looking perfectly presentable.

She groaned again and rolled over a little more, the blanket slipping down her back, letting the cold air hit her for a second before she realised that she was only in a bra and underwear and quickly pulled the blanket back up to cover herself. "Where are my clothes and how did I get up the stairs to my room?" She asked quietly, her eyes on skulduggery, glad her face was probably pale because of how horrible she felt.

He eyed her for a moment before he decided to speak, his voice free of any real emotion, though not cold or uncaring. "You passed out on the couch and Tanith took your dress off for you before she left."

She stared at him in horror. "She took my dress off and left me on the couch! Oh my god, what if somebody tried to take advantage of me or something?" She didn't really think that would happen, she was just more embarrassed that she had been left in her bra and underwear, and she still had no idea how she got to her room if she'd passed out on the couch.

"I cleared everybody out before that happened." He said simply, shifting his hand from his pocket to take his hat of his head and hang it from the door handle, the place closest to him. "Tanith was the last person to leave. And do you really think I would let somebody take advantage of you Valkyrie? I think you know me better than that." And she did, she knew Skulduggery wouldn't let anything happen to her, and it was one of the reasons she loved him so much.

"And how did I get up here? Did I wake up and walk up? Did Tanith help me up here?" She couldn't really remember much from the night before, and everything she could remember was in weird flashes that hurt her head when she tried to concentrate on them too much.

"No, Tanith left you on the lounge in your underwear; I knew it was too cold so I carried you up to your bed. I had to take your boots off too, they are downstairs." He stared at her for a moment before she dropped her face into her hands, holding back tears. She was wearing the skimpiest underwear she owned. They were almost covered almost none of her behind, and most of the fabric, except for the most important part, was see through, showing her skin underneath. He bra was very much the same.

"This is the worst day of my life." She muttered depressed. "I can't believe I you had to carry me up in my underwear. And this underwear too!" she cried, a few tears leaking out. She quickly turned her head away so he wouldn't see the tears escaping, but nothing escaped Skulduggery, and he walked slowly across the room and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You have nothing to worry about. I may still be a man, but I'm a gentleman too, the moment I realised you weren't wearing your dress I didn't look." Valkyrie didn't if this was a good thing or a bad thing, did he not look because he didn't find her attractive?

She sniffed and kept her head down. "No need to cry, I know you have a great night, you spent most of it dancing with Tanith, very suggestively I might add." He said, sounding a little embarrassed. He removed his hand from her shoulder and cleared his throat. "Everyone though you two put on a good show. I don't think your father was very impressed, but most of the uh… male… guest were." She glanced at him through her fingers and could tell that he was a little uncomfortable, maybe even a little embarrassed.

"Skulduggery?"

"Yes Valkyrie?"

"I think I'm going to be sick." She said, looking at him, the tears still in her eyes.

"Would you like your trashcan?"

"That would be nice." In one fluid movement he picked up her trashcan and handed it to her, his gloved hand moving quickly to pull her hair out of her face, just in time for her to lean forward and heave, the contests of her stomach coming back up and being emptied into the metal bin. She spat into the can when she was done to get the horrible taste out of her mouth, trying to ignore how embarrassing it was to be doing this in front of skulduggery. The blanket had fallen down to her waist, and her stomach and bra were exposed, but she couldn't bring herself to put the can down and cover herself back over.

"Are you okay?" He asked her after a moment and she nodded, the tears running down her face again, but this time from the pain in her head, not the embarrassment. He took the can from her hands and moved it away from the bed. He came back and laid her down properly, and when she looked her could tell that his eyes were facing away from her chest. She was grateful for that, she was already so ashamed, and right now she was glad for the way he was treating her, even if it hurt her heart a little to know he didn't feel the same way back.

Once she was covered with the blankets again he looked back and handed her the bottle of water off of her drawers. She drunk half of it to clear the taste from her mouth before she settled into the blankets, feeling tired again, despite all the rest she'd had.

"Stay with me?" She asked tiredly, sounding young as she let her eyes fall closed.

"If that's what you want." He said in that velvety voice of his that made her heart speed up in her chest.

"I do." She smiled lightly, thinking of what she could remember about the party the night before. "Tanith looked good." She mumbled. Tanith had been wearing a similar outfit to Valkyrie's, except her dress was tighter and red, with slits up the side, showing even more skin. "Don't you think?"

"Yes, she looked nice." He said slowly.

"Why were you so embarrassed about our dancing?" She asked curiously, although sleep was taking over fast, and her mind was having trouble with her thoughts. She did remember that Tanith and herself had spent half the night grinding against each other to the music, and she knew Tanith had looked particularly good, though she didn't think the same about herself. "I don't see why it would bother you." She mumbled, almost incoherently.

"Gentlemen or not," He said quietly. "I am still a man." His voiced was laced with what sounded like shame, but before she could ask any more questions she was asleep again.

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><p><strong>Okay, so I just wanted to make it clear to everybody that the last comment by skulduggery DOES NOT imply that he is in love with her, because, for my story to work, he needs to not be in love with her, and maybe, if you review and make me happy, I may just give you the romance I know you are all craving.<strong>

**And to explain his comment- Skulduggery may be a skeleton, he may be 400 years old, but deep down, he is still a man, and wether or not he wanted to, he found that he liked seeing the girls dance together, as a man would after 400 years of no sex, but as implied by the shame in his voice, he is upset with himself for it. He has known Valkyrie since she is little, he doesnt know the way she feels, and he feels guilty about the way he felt watching her and Tanith dancing in such a suggestive way.**

**If you have any questions, review, and send me your questions and I will answer them. The more reviews I get the sonner chapter 2 is up.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I know what your thinking. "another chapter? already?" haha. No, I dont actualy know if anyone is really reading this. But I will continue to write it anyway in the hopes I get more readers. Thanks to Yapyap for reviewing, and lending me ideas (which I will give her credit for again further into the story) [by the way sorry if your not a girl and i just assumed]**

**Enjoy**

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><p>Valkyrie yawned widely as she wandered slowly down the stairs of her large house. She had found a large shirt to wear, and a pair of boxer shorts which she pulled over her underwear, a new more comfortable pair. When she had woken up alone her heart had sunk, knowing that Skulduggery had left. He wouldn't have let her wake up alone if he was there in the house, but she felt her mood brighten slightly when she noticed the hat on the end of the bed.<p>

She knew this meant he would be back soon, he wouldn't just leave his hat there, and especially not in the place where he had left it first, which was the door handle. Once she'd put her shirt and pants on she'd picked up the hat and wandered down the stairs. Her first destination was to the heater in the living room. The air was freezing, and she was too hung over to bother trying to find a jacket. She pressed the buttons to turn on the heater and sat in front of it for a few minutes as the heat started blowing out, slowly warming up the room. Once she was satisfied with the temperature she stood up, carrying the hat with her into the kitchen.

She was surprised the find a mug sitting on the bench, steam still rising from the warm drink inside. She smiled and placed the hat carefully on the bench, freeing her hands so she could pick up the mug and take a sip of the warm liquid it contained. She smiled as she swallowed the mouthful of hot chocolate. "Forgot the sugar again." She said with a laugh as she put the mug back down. Skulduggery sometimes made her coffee or hot chocolate, but he always seemed to forget the sugar, no matter how many times she reminded him.

She grabbed the sugar and put to spoons into the hot chocolate, to make it a little sweeter. He stood in the kitchen, the warm air finally flowing in from the other room and slowly drunk her drink. When she was done she made her way upstairs and pulled her crime fighting clothes out of the closet. Her newest outfit, which she'd only collected from Ghastly a few days before hand, was made of a pair of blank pants, which hugged her thighs nicely, and flared out a little at the bottom. The shirt was tight and sleeveless, with swirls of dark blood red flowing through it. The jacket was plain black like the pants and came to about the back of her knee's, the sleeves were loose enough so it would be comfortable to fight, but not so loose that they would get away. Once she was dressed she inspected herself in the mirror.

Despite the mess of bed hair on her head she actually looked pretty good. She took the jacket off and inspected the way the clothes highlighted her new curves. Of course there weren't many, she was still tall and thin, but now she had a chest, it wasn't huge, but it was there, and her hips curved just the right amount, not wide enough to look bad but not to slim either. She put the coat back on, and after brushing her hair she wandered back down to the kitchen. She knew that Skulduggery would be here soon, he came almost every day, which made her happy. On some days he didn't show up, but most were good days, and she got to spend the day and some of the night with him.

She eyed his hat on the kitchen counter, curiosity peaking inside her. She glanced around her to make sure Skulduggery was nowhere to be seen, and once she was sure she was alone she picked up the hat, holding it carefully in her hands, feeling the fabric for a moment before she placed it gently on her head. She chuckled and turned to look at her reflection in the window, but it was fogged up and she couldn't see. She wandered through the house to find the the mirror in the living room and covered her mouth to keep her giggling quiet as she looked at her reflection. She looked kind of ridiculous, but in a way the dark hat suited her new outfit. Not the way it suited Skulduggery though.

She had wanted to try on the hat for a while now, just for fun. There was just something mysterious about it, maybe because Skulduggery wore it all the time, he seemed so attached to it. She reached up and shifted the angle that it was sitting on her head, trying to see how it looked hanging low over her face like Skulduggery sometimes wore it.

"I very much prefer the way you had it before." Said a familiar velvet voice from behind her. She spun around and saw Skulduggery leaning against the wall, his gloved hands in his pocket. Oh god, how long had he been standing there? She quickly pulled the hat off of her head and ducked her head to hide the blush.

"I uh…. Sorry." She said, embarrassment clear in her voice. She hadn't expected him to show up so soon, and she wouldn't have tried on the hat if she'd known.

"It is a very good hat. And considering how many times you've seen me wearing it only seems natural that you want to try it on. I am amazing after all." His voice was filled with amusement; obviously he found it funny that he'd caught her trying on his hat. She smoothed down her hair and walked over to hand the hat to him, her cheeks pink.

"Are you done laughing at my expense?" She asked, her arms folded across her chest defiantly. She still felt quite sick and a little tired, but she didn't want to let that weakness show to Skulduggery, especially not after the night before, and the best way to hide it was to act like normal. "I'm sure some evil out there that needs it butt kicked."

He chuckled and pushed off the wall, putting the hat on his head casually. "Lead the way." She turned around without a word and led them outside, closing and locking the door behind them before walking over and climbing into the passenger seat of the Bentley. The car had a nice familiar smell, one she couldn't place, but she liked it. She didn't know if it came from the car itself, or if it was from years of skulduggery riding inside it. Was this his smell? She'd never really had the chance to figure out if he had a smell. Any time she'd been close enough they were in a fight, and she didn't have to time to see. Could a skeleton even have a smell?

They were quiet for the first few minutes of the drive, it wasn't uncomfortable though. She turned her head a little and watched as he drove. It still always surprised her how still he could be. His long, gloved fingers sat on the steering wheel, moving slightly every time he adjusted their direction or turned a corner. His chest didn't rise or fall with breathe, his legs only ever moved when he pushed one down on a pedal, and his head faced forward. Valkyrie was very aware of the small movements she made almost constantly, unable to stay still. He had teased her about it a few times, whenever she got particularly twitchy.

She felt her chest tighten a little as she started studying his frame, something she usually only ever did when he was not looking. She knew that he must have been quite handsome when he was a man. His shoulder were built nicely, even and not too wide, he was very tall and she knew he must have been thin. Even without flesh she still thought his clothes hung nicely from his skeletal frame, making it even harder for her to keep her heart under control while looking at him. She didn't understand why she was attracted to him, something in the back of her mind told her that it was wrong, he was a skeleton after all, and her mentor, and she knew he saw her like a daughter, or a niece or something similar, someone young that needs to be protected and cared for.

"May I ask why you are staring me?" He asked curiously, turning to look at her as they stopped at a red light. "Usually I wouldn't ask… well, okay I would, but I am quite curious, as it has been going on for the past few minutes now."

She cleared her throat and shrugged, looking away. "You do know that I'm old enough to drive now right?"

"Yes, I'm quite aware of that actually."

"And you know I have my license right?"

"Yes."

"So will you let me drive the Bentley?" She asked hopefully.

He stared at her and she knew he thought she was crazy for asking. "I doubt my poor car would last through the day if I trusted you behind the wheel." He stroked the dashboard lovingly, and she wished it was her he touched like that, with affection and love. "I know how you teenagers are, driving too fast, listening to loud obnoxious music, street racing. No, sorry, no teenagers behind the wheel of the Bentley."

She sighed and crossed her arms across her chest. "I'm legally and adult now." She muttered, but she knew she had lost.

"I like your new outfit." He said, changing the subject. "When did you get it, I haven't seen it before."

"I picked it up a few days ago, but didn't want to wear it until I was eighteen. I wanted it to be special… or something like that."

He nodded and didn't say anything else, turning his attention back to the road in front of us. The silence became awkward, although Valkyrie suspected it was only awkward for her. She shifted around uneasily and finally settled for pulling out her i-pod and sticking one of the headphones in. She turned the volume down and chose a song she listened to quite a lot. It was some classical song she'd heard Skulduggery playing in his house one day. They'd gone there after a fight so she could bandage herself up instead of going Kenspeckle, who would have made a bit of a fuss out of the wounds that weren't even big enough for stitches.

While she was in the bathroom she'd heard a soft, peaceful music start playing and after searching for the source, highly confused, she'd found that it was being played from a cd, which was in Skulduggery's living room. She was always boring his stuff, like books and other things, and he'd once told her she could take whatever she liked as long as it was brought back, so she'd borrowed the cd that night and put the song on her i-pod. She didn't think he knew about it, and it wasn't like she thought he'd care, she just kept it to herself. Skulduggery owned lots of books, he even owned a DVD or two, but that was the first time she'd seen a cd in his house, so it felt special to her.

"Who are we going after today?" She asked over the quiet, beautiful music playing in her ears. "Anyone I know? Scapegrace, sanguine, I haven't seen either of them for a while."

"Neither. Just some other murderer, causing a bit of a fuss in a bar nearby."

"And by fuss you mean…?"

"He killed someone."

"Ah, I thought so." She said, slipping her i-pod into her pocket, but leaving the headphones in as Skulduggery pulled over to the car and stopped the engine. They got out of the car and walked casually down the street, but not before skulduggery put on his bandana and dark sunglasses. She was surprised he was using his old disguise again, but he did every now and then. Valkyrie suspected he preferred the dramatic entrance he could make by pulling down his bandana and revealing a skull. It was just a theory though.

He turned off the street and headed down a side alley, stopping at an old dingy door, the wood stained and disgusting, its metal hand slightly disfigured and bent. She debated taking her headphones out but after a moment's thought she instead started the song again and turned out the volume. The song was mostly peaceful in slow, but in some parts the instruments got loud and she figured that seeing as it helped her train, it couldn't hurt to fight while listening.

She nodded and skulduggery opened the door, they ran inside and almost immediately she had to dodge a piece of broken wood that came flying across the room at her head. She dodged to the side and when the second piece came she thrust her hands forward, manipulating the air to send it flying back at the man across the room. He was very tall, taller than Skulduggery even, and he was very muscled, his big arms looking quite scary as he came running across the room at her. He swung at her head and she quickly dropped down to the ground before kicking upwards, hitting him hard in the chin, all the while listening to the classical music playing in her ears.

He stumbled back a little and with another thrust of her hands she displaced the air and he went flying backwards. Skulduggery went after him and hit him hard in the jaw with a jab as soon as he was on his feet. Valkyrie jumped up from the ground and ran over to the fighting men. Skulduggery may have been only a skeleton, but he was a lot faster, and the large man was landing nearly no punches, but the ones that did hit, hit hard. She ducked around behind him and kicked the backs of his legs hard, causing him to drop to his knees. Once he was down skulduggery kneed him in the side of the head, and he dropped down, unconscious.

Valkyrie laughed breathlessly, the thrill of the fight still coursing through her veins. She finally pulled the headphones out of her ears and shoved them into her pocket, her breathing still a little fast because of the fight. "That was a little easier than I thought it would be." She said with a smile. She nudged the large man with the toe of her boot and chuckled. "And I didn't even get hit this time."

"Speak for yourself." Skulduggery said, rubbing the top of his arm through his suit jacket. "That man has a very large fists, and I think he bruised the bone."

She rolled her eyes. "You always say that, and your bones are never bruised." Skulduggery ignored her and pulled a pair of handcuffs out his pocket, cuffing the man's hands behind his back. "Now I have no idea how we are going to get him out of here. He's huge, and I mean, your strong, but not that strong. And there's no way I can lift him."

"We'll leave him and I'll call the sanctuary to come get him. He's their problem now." Skulduggery shrugged and walked away, pulling out his phone. Valkyrie sat down and concentrated her energy, clicking her fingers to summon a small flame into her hand. She smiled and started playing around with it, making it grow large and then flow back down to smaller size. She focused it into a ball and passed it into the opposite hand, something she had learnt recently and had enjoyed mucking around with.

"Okay, ready to go?" Skulduggery asked when he walked back over, slipping his phone into his pocket again.

"Shouldn't we wait until someone gets here to collect him?" she asked, kicking the limp body, not to softly.

"No, just leave him. Have you eaten today? Or did you feel to sick to eat when you got out of bed?"

Valkyrie suddenly realised just how hungry she was and stood from the table she was sitting on. "I didn't eat. I didn't want to risk it." She replied, following him out the door and into the alley. "Can we go get some lunch?" Of course, by we she meant me, skulduggery never ate, and usually just tended to watch her when she ate. It was a little awkward and embarrassing, but she understood, so she never really complained. Not like Tanith had the first time he'd done it to her. It wasn't like he stared or anything, just sometimes he would turn and watch, probably missing eating himself.

He nodded and they walked down the street to a small café witch served lunches as well. When they walked in the door she felt around in her pockets and stopped. "I didn't bring my purse. Maybe we should just go back to mine, I can make lunch there anyway."

"Nonsense." He said, shaking his head. He had activated his disguise as they left the bar, and he currently had blonde hair and brown eyes. Most of the bone structure was the same, but it still didn't look like him. "I'll buy you lunch. You deserve it." She resisted the urge to smile, always a gentlemen.

"But you got me lunch two days ago. I hate you spending all of your money on me." He raised his eye brows, something she knew he would do quite a lot if he had a face all of the time.

"Valkyrie, I'm hardly spending all my money by buying you lunch. I don't have to buy food, so I have plenty of money." He turned to the woman at the counter who was waiting to take their order. "She'll have burger, everything but tomato, and some fries with a chocolate milkshake." Valkyrie felt her heart go a little faster when he told the woman her order. It was what she usually ordered, but most of the time he wandered off to find a table or didn't appear to be listening, so she was surprised, and a little happy that he knew what she would eat.

"Anything for you?" The woman asked, giving a smile that seemed a little too friendly. Valkyrie glared at her.

"No thank you, but I will let you know If I need anything." He answered with a charming smile. She handed him little number and he led the way to a table by the window. Valkyrie sat down opposite him, a small frown on her face as she looked back at the woman. She turned back and did her best to smile before Skulduggery noticed.

"How do you know my order, I didn't think you ever paid much attention."

"Valkyrie, I have known you for six years, and every time we come to place like this you have ordered the same thing. I'm actualy quite surprised you haven't gotten sick of it by now."

"Hey it's good food." She retorted. "And, I never thought you listened when I ordered. You always seem like you're off in that little world in your head, the one where everybody loves you as much as you think they do." She smirked and leaned back in her chair.

"I'll have you know that plenty of people love me in this world. If you are incapable of seeing my brilliance then it is not my fault." She snorted and turned as a different waitress placed her chocolate milkshake on the table in front of her. "Thank you." She said as the woman walked away.

Soon someone carried out her food and they sat quietly while she ate, sometimes exchanging simple chat about something Tanith or Ghastly said, or what was happening in some other country. Skulduggery still didn't know they Valkyrie had broken up with Fletcher a few weeks before, and she hadn't been planning to tell him yet, but she didn't have much of a choice because he brought it up on the way back to the car.

"I didn't see Fletcher at your party last night." He said, glancing sideways at her, curiosity on his face. "Did he have something else planned, or did I just miss him." They stopped at the car and climbed in. Skulduggery tapped his shoulder blades and the disguise fell away instantly, leaving him with his skull, like normal. "You'd think your boyfriend would show up at your birthday party though. Would you like me to punch him?"

Usually Valkyrie would have made a witty joke, but instead she busied herself with doing up her seat belt, giving her an excuse not to look at him. She felt bad for Fletcher, she really did, but she just couldn't stay in relationship with him when she felt more for Skulduggery, even if she knew nothing would ever come of it. "I uh… we aren't going out anymore." She said, glancing at him sideways. "We broke up."

Skulduggery's posture changed a little, and she could tell that he was no longer joking. "Are you okay? I really would punch him if you like." Although his mood didn't show on his skeletal face, she could hear it in his voice that he was concerned about her. He cared about her, and he had since she started working with him. He always looked out for her and made sure she was okay, and it seemed that breakups would be no different.

"No. It's okay. I-" She stopped and cleared her throat. "I broke up with him. I couldn't be with him anymore."

He reached over and rested his hand on her shoulder, and she felt her stomach tighten and her heart jump. "Valkyrie… did he hurt you? Is that why you broke up with him?"

This conversation was really quite awkward, and she really didn't want him to misunderstand what had happened. If he though Fletcher had done anything to hurt her then he would hunt him down and make him regret it. "Oh no. I promise, he didn't do anything. He was actually really respectable, didn't try to force me into anything… sexual." She blushed a little on the last word. "I just didn't feel like it was working for us I guess… I just don't feel that way for him anymore."

She could feel Skulduggery relax beside her, and he drew his hand away, making her fell a little cold, though his gloved hand had provided no warmth. "As long as you're okay." He said as he started the car and pulled out onto the road.

She assured him that everything was okay and they drove in silence back to her house. It had already been afternoon when they left her house, and now it was getting dark as they pulled up in front of her house. She opened the door and looked back at him. "Do you want to come in?" She asked, expecting him to say no. She offered nearly every day, and most of the time he said he couldn't because he things to take care of, but still she liked to offer.

He considered for a moment before he nodded and stepped out of the car, locking it once they were both out and walking to the front door. She smiled slightly as she unlocked the door and let him in, closing the door behind them. Now she had a few hours to just relax and spend some time with Skulduggery alone. What could go wrong?

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><p><strong>So, did you enjoy it, I hope so. I worked pretty hard on it. And used valuable homework time (ha). Please review and tell me what you think. <strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys. Im sorry for the wait, I meant to have this up sooner, but unfortunatly a 12 page Ancient History task came up and I found myself with no spare time to write. But thats done now, and her is the next chapter to celebrate the two weeks of holidays I am about to recieve. Yay!**

**So just as a warning, there are some mature things in this chapter, and mostly closer to the end. No, Im sorry, it does not involve Val and Skulduggery sex (though I know you all want it), and there isnt much. I just figured it warn you. So I am going to be annoyed in a get a message telling me off for what i wrote. Even though it is nothing major.**

**So I hope you enjoy it, and Id just quickly like to say thanks to the people who reviewed, I apreciated it greatly, and also thanks to the people who put me on story alert. Don't forget to review this time :)**

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><p>"I don't understand how you could possibly still be hungry." Valkyrie rolled her eyes and continued with what she was doing. They were currently standing in her kitchen and she was cutting chicken for her dinner. As soon as they were inside she had gone upstairs, got changed into jeans and comfortable shirt, then come to the kitchen and pulled the chicken out of the fridge to make her dinner. "You had a huge lunch, and it wasn't that long ago. Your going to get fat if you keep eating so much." He warned.<p>

She shot a glare at him and threw the cut up chicken into the pan and it started sizzling. "I will not! Fighting makes me hungry, I do a lot more than other people my age, and so I need more food." Valkyrie ate a lot more than people her age, but she knew it was because she did so much physical activity, so she did her best not to feel bad about it. Although Skulduggery made it hard sometimes with the way he always brought it up.

Once the chicken was browned she threw in some vegetables and some sauce and turned it down low to let the flavour sink in. She turned and leaned against the bench, her bare arms folded across her chest. She loved wearing sleeveless shirts now that she worked out, her arms weren't as big as Tanith's were, but they were still nicely muscled, and she was quite proud of it. "It's been a bit quiet recently, no evil masterminds trying to destroy the world. I'm worried something big is coming."

Skulduggery shrugged and sliding off his coat and sitting in in the chair so he was just in his suit pants and shirt. "It always happens this way. Something big comes along, we defeat it, and then something bigger comes." He chuckled. "But with me and you on the good guys team what do we have to worry about."

She shook her head at his cockiness and served herself a bowl of food before walking into the lounge room, skulduggery following her. "We are going to lose one day. I'm surprised one of hasn't already died." She glanced at him. "Or died again." She added.

"No, me and you make too good a team. With your bad attitude and my amazing skills and charm we always manage." She punched him on the arm and sat down, sticking a spoonful of food into her mouth.

"You're such an idiot." She mumbled around mouthful of food. "Make yourself useful and start the fire, I'm bloody freezing."

She watched as he clicked his fingers and summoned a flame into his hand. She could still remember the first time she had seen him do that, in the same room they were in now, 6 years before. She had had no idea then the events she would experience over the next few years, but even if she did, she probably wouldn't have changed anything. The fun she had with Skulduggery, Tanith and Ghastly was worth the pain she felt every time she remembered there was no hope for her and Skulduggery.

He cradled the flame in his hand for a moment before he knelt down and held it to the wood in the fireplace. The flame tripled in size and after a moment the wood caught fire, the orange flames spreading across the surface of the first piece and then spreading to the next and then the next. She loved watching Skulduggery do magic. To most it would seem simple, and unimportant, but she knew Skulduggery loved his magic, and she could see it now, in the way he acted when he used it, the way he gently cradled a flame, or the way he put so much concentration into it when summoning a breeze.

Skulduggery moved to sit next to her on the couch and sat quietly while she finished the food in her bowl. When she was done he asked "So what movie do you plan on showing me tonight?" She smiled. Whenever Skulduggery stayed over for a few hours she would find a new movie and show him. At first he had complained about it, said he wasn't all that interested in watching the movies of this mentally confused generation, but she knew he was joking, and he usually enjoyed the ones she picked.

She walked over to the shelves of movies and looked around for a while before she pulled one off the shelf and held it up. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." She said with an amused smirk. "It's got Nicholas Cage in it. What a babe." She laughed and slid the disk into the player and turned on her large flat screen TV. "Sort of reminds me of when I met you. Accept with completely different circumstances." She said as the movie started and she sat back down.

They sat quietly watching the movie, laughing whenever there was a funny scene. Well, she laughed when there was a funny scene, Skulduggery laughed when they did magic that seemed stupid. "You know you actually can't use magic to animate mops right?" He asked when she laughed at the moving mops and brooms in the film.

"I'm not stupid." Was her answer, before she went back to laughing at the screen.

By the time the movie was finished Skulduggery was leaning forward in his seat and Valkyrie was laughing at him instead of the stuff on the screen. "See, I knew you'd like it." She said as she used the remote to turn off the TV. He leaned back slowly and cleared his throat.

"It was okay, it was nothing amazing, but I did enjoy it. Nicholas Cage plays a good magician."

She nodded. "Of course he does! It's Nicholas Cage, he plays every role good. I have not yet seen a Nicholas Cage movie that he was horrible in."

He shook his head. "Aren't most girls your age in love with that boy who was in that vampire movie?" He asked.

Valkyrie snorted. She hated twilight. She'd read the books, and although she didn't love them, she had thought they were okay, but she hated the movies, and every time she saw a girl with a twilight t-shirt she had to resist the urge to punch them. "Robert Patterson? Ew, no, that's gross! And I'm not in love with Nicholas Cage; I just think he's an amazing actor. My love is reserved for someone a little more real than that thank you."

He tilted his head and didn't say anything, obviously waiting for her to say something else. She realised what she had said and blushed. 'I mean, I'm not in a relationship or anything, don't get me wrong. But Nicholas Cage is an actor, he's hardly real. If I'm going to be in love with somebody they are going to be real. A gentleman, not some actor who's more in love with himself than anyone else."

She cleared her throat and leaned back awkwardly. Of course she already loved skulduggery, who was a gentleman, and she could look past the fact that he was in love with himself. She opened her mouth to speak but didn't get a chance because there was a loud crash of thunder. She jumped, surprised, and looked out the window. It was dark outside, and she couldn't see the sky, but she could now hear the familiar sound of rain drops hitting the roof, getting louder as the rain intensified. "Oh you've got to be kidding. The news said not to expect rain for four days!"

Skulduggery stood from to couch and walked over to the window, looking out. "Don't trust everything you hear on TV Valkyrie, though I hate to admit it, even I didn't know this was coming, the air didn't even shift like it usually does before a storm." He had been teaching her over the past few months to try and predict weather patterns, he had explained that air changed in pressure a day or so before a storm was going to hit. She wasn't very good at figuring it out, but she was getting the hang of it. She didn't know how Skulduggery hadn't sensed it though.

Valkyrie sighed dejectedly and leaned back into the couch, her arms crossed over her chest. The rain was getting pretty heavy, and she knew skulduggery would want to leave before the storm got any worse. She waited a moment and then stood from the couch, grabbing his hat of the table and holding it out for him. "I'm assuming its time for you to go home?" she asked. As he turned to look at her there was a bright flash followed by a crash, although this wasn't lightning. She couldn't see out the window past Skulduggery, but she heard him mutter something, which sounded suspiciously like a swear word, and then he bolted out the door. She ran after him and stopped in the doorway. A huge tree had fallen on top of the Bentley and crushed it.

Skulduggery splayed his hands and the tree rolled off the Bentley, leaving the bent and mangled car where it was. Valkyrie ran out into the rain after him, ignoring the water that ran down the back of her jacket and rolled down her back. "I don't think you're going to be driving home." She said loudly to be heard over the rain, resting her hand comfortingly on his arm. The Bentley got ruined quite often, and although it always got fixed perfectly it still upset Skulduggery every time it happened.

He nodded and they turned and went back inside, knowing there was nothing they could do for the car with the storm this bad, and getting worse. She closed the door behind them, glad that he hadn't blasted it off the hinges like the first time she stayed in the house alone. The night that changed her life forever. Although the sound of the storm was more muffled with the door closed it was still loud, and the sound of thunder echoed through the house and lasted for a few seconds before fading away to be once again replaced by the roar of heavy winds and rain.

"You can stay here." She said, putting his hat back down after realising she was still holding it. "You can stay in the spare room next to mine. It's the only one that's not a mess right now." She said, her cheeks getting a little pink. Valkyrie knew she was messy, and so did Skulduggery, although it was still awkward. There had been plenty of times when he'd come through the window and she'd had bras and underwear laying around. He never went out of his way to embarrass her about it, but it was still embarrassing. And she'd been spending a lot of time in the other spare rooms, undertaking different projects she felt might be fin before leaving the mess to go start another.

He considered this for a moment before he nodded. "Okay, it is a bit too far to walk, and I don't feel like flying in the rain." He brought his hand up and drew out all the water from his clothes and then let summoned a flame in his other hand to turn it into steam and evaporate it. Valkyrie did the same, although her clothes still felt a tiny bit damp. Six years of doing magic and she still couldn't dry her own clothes properly. "I know you don't need to sleep or anything, but I figure the bed would be more comfortable for your meditation than the couch."

He nodded and looked at the cloth above the fireplace. It was about 1 in the morning. Valkyrie's yes widened in surprise. She hadn't realised it was that late. "Oh my god is that the time." Of course this wasn't really late for her. Sometimes her and Skulduggery would be out all night working a case, but usually when she was home she went to bed early to catch up the sleep she missed. "I should get some sleep. Who knows how late you'll keep me out tomorrow night." She grinned at him and splayed her hand, sending a wave of air to put out the fire. The only source of light in the room was a lamp next to the couch and she turned that off and headed towards the stairs, clicking her fingers and holding a small flame in her hands so she wouldn't trip.

She walked past her room and opened the door to the guest room, flicking on the light and letting out her fire. She was glad she had checked because there was a small pile of clothes on the guest bed, a lacy blue G-string sitting on top, the tag still on. She silently cursed Tanith as he hurried over and grabbed the clothes, trying the keep the underwear from skulduggery's view. "If you need anything then help yourself, you probably know this house better than I do." She knew she sounded a little awkward. Her heart was hammering in her chest. Skulduggery was staying in the room next to her.

Of course she'd stayed at Skulduggery's before, although it had been almost a year since she'd had to sleep at his house, and her reaction had been quite similar then. She'd been so nervous she hadn't even ended up sleeping, she just laid on his couch unable to get even a minutes sleep. She felt a little pathetic when she thought about it, but she tried to keep the thoughts away.

She smiled a little and tried to walk through the door, although she didn't make it all the way through. She yelped as tripped over her own feet, trying to let go of the clothes in time to catch herself. The clothes left her arms but before she could displace the air to soften her landing she felt a pair of hard, thin arms wrap around her, steadying her. She felt her face go red and her body heat up as she felt herself pressed against Skulduggery's hard chest. She could feel his ribs through his shirt, though they weren't uncomfortable.

He helped steady her and then pulled away, and she felt a pain in her chest at the loss, but her body was still hot from the contact, and she knew he could see the blush on her face. He kept his hands on her arms and shook his head. "What am I going to do with you? You can't even walk on a flat surface without tripping over." She glared, knowing the pink on her cheeks would take away and real threat in the expression.

Her heart was beating even faster now, although she couldn't tell if it was from the scare of falling or from being so close to Skulduggery. "I bet you tripped me just so you could tease me." She said, shaking her long hair out of her face, although there was one lock that just wouldn't get out of the way of her left eye. He shook his head again and let go of her arms. He reached out and pushed the lock out of her face with a gloved finger. Her breath caught in her throat at the touch, and then it was gone, his hand sliding into his pocket, as though it had been nothing.

"I think your tired, you should sleep before you fall over and kill yourself." He said, tilting his head.

"You know one day you're going to trip, and I'm going to see it. And you know what, It's going to be the best day of my life."

"That's impossible; I'm much too graceful to trip." He stepped past her into the room and slid his suit jacket off, hanging it over a chair just inside the door. He sat on the edge of the bed and starting sliding his shoes off while Valkyrie bent down and picked up the clothes she had dropped, she stood back up and went to walk out the door but he stopped her.

"Valkyrie." She turned to look at him and he cleared his throat, sounding a little embarrassed. He pointed to the ground inside the door and she swore. The blue G-string.

"Oh for god's sake, I'm going to kill Tanith." She said as she bent down and picked it up, shoving it out of his site. "I'm going to go kill myself now. Goodnight." She said over her shoulder as she walked out.

"Goodnight Valkyrie." He replied. And she saw him moving to sit cross legged just as she closed the door. She walked slowly into her room, dumping the clothes just inside the door. She was tempted to throw the blue underwear into the bin, but she decided against it, she never knew when she might want to wear them, and they were really quite pretty

The walked over and flopped down onto the bed on her back, staring at the roof as she willed her body calm down. Her whole body was tingling with excitement and need. She tried to slow her breathing and relax, but her body would have no part in it. She growled in frustration and rolled over, ignoring the way the tingling increased as her legs pressed together halfway through her role. She hated her hormones. Weren't they supposed to calm down by now? She thought hormones were only bad for younger teenagers, but the older she got the more intense they grew.

The sound of Skulduggery's smooth velvet voice ran through her head, accompanied by the feeling of being held against him, making her discomfort worse, warmth pooling between her legs, making her face heat up and also making it extremely difficult to sleep. She tossed and turned for a while before finally getting up and heading downstairs, a flame held in her hand until she could turn on the kitchen light to pour herself a glass of milk. She was about halfway through the drink when she heard a shout followed by a loud bang upstairs.

She dropped the glass and ran up the stairs, flame in her hand. "Skulduggery?" she called. "Skulduggery?" She reached the top floor and threw open the bedroom door. The bed Skulduggery had been on was on its side, and there was no one in the room. "Skulduggery where are you?" She cried, running down the hall to look out of the open window. She couldn't see through the rain, but she knew he wasn't outside when she heard another yell, this time coming from her bedroom.

She turned, but didn't have time to even take a step before she was punched hard in the face. She felt a numb pain spread across her face and felt the familiar warmth of blood running down her face. Her nose was broken. She pushed out her hands to push at the air but whoever had hit her sidestepped and she felt something cold and metal close around her wrists. She threw herself away and into the opposite wall in terror. The hall was dark and her eyes were watering like crazy so she couldn't see a thing.

She clicked her fingers but no spark was created, and she knew that these were magic binding cuffs. She couldn't feel the air around her, so she didn't see the next punch coming, this one hitting her in the stomach. The air was forced from her lungs and she fell to her knees. She lashed out but whoever was attacking her easily evaded and kneed her in the face, doubling the pain in her nose. She cried out and fell back against the wall, curling her knees close to her to try and protect her injured face.

She could hear yelling somewhere down the hall, and she thought she heard Skulduggery call her name, but she couldn't reply, as a boot hit her in the side, sending her sprawling to the ground and unable to breathe. She was kicked again and she cried out again as her pain grew. She was defenceless, and she had changed out of her magical and protective clothing. She was feeling everything.

"I told you I'd get you one day." Fear shot through her at the sound of the familiar American voice that whispered in her ear.

"Sanguine." She spat, trying to open her eyes to look at him, but they were swollen because of her broken nose, and in the dark she could barely make out his outline. "What have you done with Skulduggery?"

"You'll see him again soon enough." Sanguine answered, hauling her to her feet. The hall was quiet now, and she knew the struggle was over. They'd had no chance. Sanguine had caught them when they didn't expect it, and now they were going to pay for being so naïve. For the first time in a while Valkyrie feared that she would be killed. Sanguine detested her, and had been trying to get his hands on her for a long time. She had always managed to get away, or Skulduggery saved her, but from what she had heard coming from down the hall, they had Skulduggery as well. He wouldn't be able to save her.

"You're going to kill me then?" She asked, trying to be as casual as she could as he hauled her to her feet and led her roughly down the stairs.

"We got more in stall for you than just killin you girly." He said in a very amused voice. "See, I been hired by some people that don't particularly like you skeleton friend, and they've ordered me to torture him in the worst way I could come up with." He chuckled, obviously very happy with himself. "An' everybody knows that the best way to get to the skeleton detective is to get to the people he cares about the most."

Valkyrie swallowed heavily and gagged at the taste of blood in her mouth from her nose. She wasn't going to be killed anytime soon. But she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. They were going to use her against Skulduggery, they were going to torture her to torture him, and there was nothing either of them could do about it.

"You're going to regret this Sanguine." She threatened as he led her through the house to the front door. "He's going to kill you for this. You know that right?"

Sanguine laughed and dragged her into the rain. "I'm not going to give him a chance." She opened her mouth to retort, but something heavy smashed into the back of her head, and the last thing she heard before she fell was Sanguine's evil chuckle.

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><p><strong>I know, I'm evil and you all must hate me ^_^ But I had to do it. As annoying as he can be I do like Sanguine, and I feel like this will be important for Valkyrie and Skulduggery, as maybe they will learn they arent invincible. <strong>

**I warn you, the next chapter will probably be very graphic, and not in a good way. **

**Please review and tell me what you think, I love to hear your opinions. (Also, hooray if youve watched the Sorcerors aprentice and know what I was talking about)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, heres the next chapter, i hope you've been as impatient as I would have been.**

**So I feel the need to give you a warning, this chapter is going to be very graphic and m rated, and not in a very pleasant way.**

**I get the feeling most of you will hate me by the end of it, but it's nesecary.**

**Read and review please**

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><p>When Valkyrie woke the first thing she felt was a sharp pain in her ribs and a throbbing headache that threatened to make her pass out again. But her natural instinct for self-preservation made her fight it off and slowly she became more aware of her situation. Her wrists ached and she soon realised it was because there was thick chains around her wrists, and she was dangling from the roof of whatever room she was in. She could feel the hard wall against her back, and was at least grateful that she wasn't hanging in the middle of the room.<p>

She shifted her fingers and wrapped them around the cold chains, trying to take some pressure off her wrists, but the strain on her ribs shot pain through her chest. She slowly opened her eyes, and was suddenly grateful she was in a dark room. There was a single light bulb hanging from the roof in the middle of the room, and there was no light coming from it. There was a small amount of light coming through the window on the wall on the left, and with the help of this light she could see that the room was average size, and empty except for herself and a chair directly across the room from her, a chair that was occupied. Skulduggery sat limply in the chair, his suit torn on the right sleeve and his head hung low, as though in defeat.

"Skulduggery?" His head shot up to look at her, and he sat up in the chair, tugging at the heavy looking metal circles holding his thin arms to the chair. From what she could see there was also leather straps across his arms and legs, keeping him still in the wooden chair.

"Valkyrie, are your hurt?" He asked quickly, tugging harder, although she could see he wasn't going to get away. He was too firmly bound, and she knew that the cuffs would be binding his magic. Only an idiot would take Skulduggery hostage and let him keep his magic.

She winced and braced her feet against the floor properly and leaned back against the wall so that she was standing instead of hanging. Her hands were directly above her head, and she couldn't get them any lower than they were. "I'm alright." She answered, looking at the chains as she tugged on them experimentally, trying to get her hands free. "I think one of my ribs is cracked, or broken, and I have a headache." She tried sliding her hands through the chains but that didn't work either. "Are you alright? Did they hurt you? What happened?"

"Someone snuck up on me while I was meditating." He answered, clicking his fingers, trying to summon a flame. "They cuffed me before I could fight them off. I heard someone in your room and ran in but you weren't in there. Whoever cuffed me got me from behind and we got in a fight. I had hoped they hadn't got you, but when they dragged me out of the room… I saw Sanguine kicking you." He went quite for a moment, and Valkyrie thought he was probably punishing himself for not being able to help her. "The blindfolded me and threw me in the back seat of a car. When Sanguine threw you in you were unconscious. The brought us straight here and chained us up. You've been unconscious for a whole day."

She growled under her breathe and tugged harder on the chains, ignoring the pain shooting through her chest. She spun and braced her feet against the wall, dangling from her hands again. She tugged hard, her wrists going numb from the lack of blood flow being let through as she tried desperately to escape.

"Now, is that any way to treat my hospitality?"

"Sanguine!" Valkyrie and Skulduggery said at the same time. She spun back to see him standing in the doorway, his arms folded across his chest and a cocky grin on his face. "Let us go now, and I will only hurt you a little." Skulduggery said calmly. "Torturing me will get you nowhere, so I don't see the point in keeping us here." Valkyire felt her body go cold, Skulduggery hadn't figured it out yet, he hadn't realised that Sanguine was going to torture her. Of course, she was in the perfect position to watch if he tortured Skulduggery, and maybe that was why he had thought Sanguine was going to torture him.

"Skulduggery." She said her eyes on him. They were not pleading for help, or pity, she was just urging him to understand. She didn't want him to go through this, not after he already had to watch his family die at the hands of another. She tried to tell him with her eyes that she would be okay, that everything would be okay, but she couldn't help it, she was scared, and Skulduggery could see it.

"No." He said, turning to stare at Sanguine. "You listen to me Sanguine; you do not lay a finger on her! If you touch her I will kill you, do you understand me?" Sanguine chuckled and walked across the room towards her, his stride slow, like he had all the time in the world. She tried to kick out at him but she was weak and in pain, and he easily batted her foot aside. "Get away from her!" Skulduggery said, louder now, leaning forward in his chair, pulling desperately on his restraints.

"Oh I don't think so Mr Pleasant, see, I' been paid to do a job, and that job is torturin' you. See now, I asked round, tried to figure out what would hurt you the most, and every person told me that this girly here was your vulnerable spot." He paused to chuckle. "And heck, I ain't gonna' turn down a chance to torture Valkyrie Cain, not after all the trouble she's caused me."

Valkyrie spat at his face, but it didn't take the smile away. He reached up and wiped his face clean with his sleeve. She held her head high and looked at Skulduggery for a moment, although it was hard to tell because he had no eyes, she thought he was looking at her. She smiled weakly before turning back to the cocky American. "When we get out of here, Skulduggery won't kill you, because I'll do it myself, with your own razor."

He laughed, and in one swift movement swung a hard punch at her face. Her head was forced back against the wall, and she resisted the urge to make any noise. She glared at him and spat blood from her now split lip. He punched her again, this time in the stomach and she doubled over as much as she could, her breath rushing from her lungs, pain coursing through her. He laughed ecstatically and began punching her over and over, in the stomach, in the face, in the ribs. She gritted her teeth, grunting in pain with every hit, though she did her best to stay quiet. Skulduggery was yelling now, but she couldn't hear what she was saying, she was too busy trying to keep out the pain.

Eventually he stopped and she had a chance to spit out another mouthful of blood. She panted heavily, glaring at Sanguine defiantly, determined not to give in to him that easily, despite the intense pain rushing through her entire system. "I will kill you for this Sanguine!" Skulduggery roared. "I don't care what she says; I am going to kill you! And I will make you feel more pain then you could ever imagine!"

Billy Ray turned away from Skulduggery, ignoring him, and looked Valkyrie. He was wearing his sunglasses, so it was hard to tell, but by the small movements of his head, she knew he was looking her up and down. "So the punching isn't enough yet is it?" He smirked and reached out, grabbing the front of her shirt. In one swift movement he tore open the whole front of her shirt, exposing her pale stomach and the lacy black bra holding her breasts in place. She felt her face heat up, and probably the top of her chest as well, from the embarrassment of having the two men see her like this.

"Looks like I'm going to have to work a little harder then." He pulled out his straight razor and cut away the rest of her shirt, leaving her top half properly exposed. Valkyrie's chest wasn't big, and she knew that it probably wasn't going to get any bigger, but the bra was specifically designed to push up what little she did have and make it look a little bigger and more tempting. She suddenly regretted wearing it. Before she knew what he was doing, Sanguine drew the sharp blade along the top of her stomach, from one side to the other, similar to the wound she had inflicted upon him a few years before. She couldn't help herself; she cried out in pain and jerked away from him, a few tears developing in her eyes. Her body would be scarred forever now.

Sanguine sighed. "Finally." He looked at the wound he had just inflicted, her red blood running down her stomach. "How perfect."

"You'll be okay Valkyrie, don't worry, I'll get us out of this. We'll take you to the sanctuary doctors, see what we can do about the scar. Be brave." She looked at Skulduggery and nodded, keeping her eyes on him she felt the blade dragging across the top of her arm, the sharp and stinging pain coursing through her whole arm. She whimpered but didn't look away from Skulduggery. Her stomach and arm hurt so bad, but she didn't want him to know just how much, and if she looked away she knew she'd show her pain. Warm blood now ran down her arm as well as her stomach.

"I hate you." She whispered to Sanguine. "I hope he makes you beg for death. And I want to be there when he does."

"I hate you too, but aren't we having fun?" He grabbed her hair and tugged her head back hard, forcing her eyes to move away from Skulduggery to him. "By the time I'm done with you, you won't want to do anything other than die. I'm going to break you." He let go of her hair and stepped back to look her over. "That wounds going to scar good, such a shame too, you grew into a pretty thing, so much potential, and yet you wasted all your time with a dead man." He shook his head and stepped closer again. "But I unlike him can appreciate a nice feminine figure when I see one. He's not a man anymore, he doesn't see it."

In a flash he cut down one side of her pants, leaving them hanging loosely. He moved slowly to her other side and cut there too, the remains of her pants falling to the floor, now useless, and leaving her fully exposed and even more disturbed then before. "I figured out the best way to torture both of you." He said, pressing her against the wall. "It's not pain, no, you feel that too much, you're too accustomed to it." He dragged the razor across the opposite arm, giving her a matching cut. "You'd just take it and walk away the same, no, see it took me a long time, but I finally figured it out." He chuckled, "and it turns out I like the new idea a whole lot."

Questions were running through her head as she tried to figure it out, but her question was soon answered. He slid the razor under her bra straps and cut them both, the bra now staying in place only by luck. She stared at him in horror, not able to speak.

"I'm going to destroy you in the most effective way possible, I'm going to take away your innocence, and I'm going to do it in front of him." He grinned and pointed at Skulduggery who had gone still, his fingers clenched into tight fists on the arms of the chair. She looked at him hopelessly before she looked away, unable to keep her eyes on him anymore. She pulled against the chains, thrashing, desperate to get free. She could feel her bra slipping down but she didn't care, she just needed to get away. She'd been okay before this, she could have taken the beating, but not this, she couldn't let him touch her.

She felt his fingers close around the bra and he tore it from her body, exposing her chest to the cold air. She turned her head away and felt tears leak from her eyes. "Please." She begged, feeling pathetic as the word left her mouth. "Please, don't. Please…" He laughed at her, loud and happy, obviously finding pleasure in her begging.

He pushed her against the wall roughly, his hands on her chest, his fingers squeezing her breasts. She whimpered and tried to pull away, but she couldn't get free.

"Oh god, Valkyrie, I'm so sorry Valkyrie." She could hear skulduggery, hear the regret and pain in his voice, but she couldn't bring herself to look at him. She tugged half-heartedly on the chains again, though she knew she wasn't going to get free. Sanguine chuckled, moving closer to press his body against hers, his fingers fondling her, squeezing and massaging her. She felt like she was going to be sick, but she couldn't do anything to get away, she couldn't find the strength, she knew what he was doing, and she knew she couldn't stop him.

Soon he seemed to grow bored of this he began running his fingers over her body, touching her, feeling her, his fingers running through the blood on her stomach as though it wasn't there. "I'm going to enjoy playing with you Cain." He said, his accent sickening her. She sobbed as he reached down and cut her underwear off, pulling away the thin fabric, and now exposing her fully. She felt so ashamed and embarrassed. And more than anything, dirty.

"Sanguine, stop, please stop. You have me, you don't need to do this to her. I won't fight, just let her go, let her go and you can do anything you want with me, just don't do this." Sanguine shook his head at Skulduggery's attempts to stop him. "She's just a girl!" He roared.

He dropped his straight razor and used his left arm to hold her against the wall. He didn't have his pants undone, so she knew that for now, she wasn't going to be raped, but she had no idea what he was going to do now, and she was scared. "She ain't no girl detective. She's a lady who's been asking for trouble, and it's finally caught up with her." With a smirk he slid his hand down her stomach and between her legs. She felt her chest speed up with fear and she did her best to struggle against his arm.

Suddenly she felt his finger force its way inside her, and she screamed, the worst pain she had ever felt shooting through her, but she knew it was going to get worse. He was only just starting.

"Your screams are like music to my ear." He said, leaning forward to bite her on the shoulder. She jerked away from the bite, but that shifted his finger inside her and caused her to cry out in agony and shame. He took this moment to force another of his fingers inside her, making her feel like he was tearing her apart.

"God stop, please stop, it hurts." She sobbed, her eyes closed and she shook her head, trying to escape the pain and shame coursing through her body. This was supposed to feel good, she knew that the first time was meant to hurt, and he wasn't even having sex with her yet, but she didn't realise it would hurt this much. She knew it was bad because she didn't want it and he hadn't prepared her, but how could it be this bad?

Skulduggery was saying something, but she lost her ability to understand as Sanguine slid his fingers out and shoved them back in roughly. She could feel that she was bleeding now, she didn't know if it was normal or not, but she didn't ask, instead she bit her lip and tried to block out the pain he was causing her. "Valkyrie, you're nice and tight, so you didn't let the little teleporter get in did you?" He teased, his hand moving at a steady rhythm now, burying his fingers deep inside her before pulling them out and then back in again.

She glared at him through her tears. "No, I'm not surprised, everybody knows he's not the man you want is he." She spat at him but didn't struggle, knowing it would cause her more pain.

"Shut your dirty mouth." She snarled, the pain taking away any threat in her voice. Skulduggery sat helplessly in his chair, tugging at the cuffs keeping him from saving her. "You don't know anything!"

He laughed and leaned close to her ear. "Everyone can see it. You love the dead man." He leaned back and smirked. "How sad for you, it's pathetic; falling for the man you know you can't have. He doesn't love you back you know, everyone can see it."

"Shut up!" She screamed. He laughed and shifted his hand. She didn't have the energy to cry out and just whimpered as the fingers hurt her more.

"If only you'd accepted he'd never love you, maybe then you'd have given yourself to the teleporter, and then this wouldn't be hurting as much."

He slid his thumb up from her torn and bleeding hole and she gasped as he pressed it against something further up. Her face heated up and she turned her head to hide it. God she was in so much pain, but what he had just done, it had surprised her, but it didn't hurt. "Hmm, starting to like it are you Valkyrie, I always knew you'd be one for pain. Kinky."

She stared at him in horror, but she didn't have a chance to even try to say anything back because he did it again, rubbing his thumb against something sensitive, something that forced a little bit of pleasure through the pain. She made a small noise and gripped the chains tighter, biting her bottom lip to stop anymore noises from slipping out.

"Sanguine what are you doing, leave her alone, stop touching her! Haven't you hurt her enough? Why do you have to find more ways to hurt her?" She could hear the pain in his voice from what he was being forced to watch. And knowing Skulduggery he was blaming himself.

"Oh I'm not hurting her more, am I Val?" He asked cockily, using her nickname as he rubbed her some more, his fingers still moving inside her. She could feel the pleasure through the pain and whimpered, trying to move away, hating herself for what he was making her feel. Wriggling hurt her and she whimpered, but a quick movement of his thumb turned the whimper into a small moan. She stopped herself and sobbed, trying to move from Skulduggery's view as tears flooded down her face. How could she be feeling pleasure from this? What was wrong with her?

"You're sick." Skulduggery snarled viciously. "You're sick; you haven't taken enough from her? Now you have to play with her too?" He yelled angrily, and she could hear him trying to get out of the chair. She was so embarrassed, this was worse than just the pain. Now she had to deal with the agony he had already inflicted, plus the shame from the pleasure he was now somehow giving her.

He did this a few more times before he moved his thumb away and with a sick laugh he forced yet another finger inside her, shoving it in roughly. She screamed yet again, yanking on the chains with all of her strength that she had left, thrashing and trying to head butt him, but it was no use, he stayed out of range and twisted his fingers until she stopped from the extra pain he was inflicting.

Her legs couldn't hold her up anymore, and they dropped from beneath her, leaving her hanging from the chains again. She hung her but made no more attempts to escape from Sanguine. It was over, she had full control, and she no longer had the will to try and fight back. She just couldn't do it.

As soon she did this Sanguine smirked and pulled his fingers out of her. They were covered in blood. He pulled a tissue from his shirt pocket and wiped them clean. The was a bulge in the front of his pants, but other than that he seemed disinterested in what had just happened. He was aroused, so Valkyrie had no idea why he hadn't raped her, but she didn't ask, she didn't want to give him ideas. "I think my job is done for now." He said proudly in that sickening accent.

She didn't look up at him as he reached up and undid her chains. As soon as they left her wrist she dropped to the ground, not having the strength or willpower to keep herself on her feet. She slumped to the side and pulled her legs up and hugged her knees. She was covered in blood, she could see it and smell it, but she didn't care. She hardly noticed how cold the room was, or the pain she was in, she just closed her eyes tightly, trying to will herself away from the things she had suffered since waking up.

"Well, now that I'm done for the day, I think I might go take care of myself now."

"I'm going to kill."

"You can't even escape dead man, how you planning' on killin me?"

"I'm going to kill you." Skulduggery repeated, his voice was low, quiet, but filled with more rage than Valkyrie had ever heard. "And it's going to be slow, and painful. I am going to make you pay for what you did to her."

"Whatever, first I'd like to see you get out of that chair." Before Skulduggery could say another word she heard the door close and she knew that Sanguine had left. She couldn't bring herself to look at Skulduggery, she just couldn't, not after what Sanguine had done to her. He'd hurt her and violated her, and forced her to feel things she didn't want to feel from him. She was disgusting. She had wandered why he had left her off the chains when that meant she could easily undo Skulduggery, but now she knew why, he had broken her, just like he said he would, and now she didn't even have it in her to release Skulduggery, the man she loved.

She cried silently, curling into a tighter ball, and Skulduggery stayed quiet. Somewhere in the back of her head she knew what she was doing was stupid, she needed to get up and help Skulduggery. She knew that if she helped him get out of the chair he would help her; he would take care of her, take her home and make sure she was safe. But how could she get up and face him after that? Sanguine had done that on purpose, he knew it would break her, and he was so confident he unchained her.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered quietly in the silent room, his voice carrying over to her. "This is my fault, it's my fault he hurt you like this." She heard a cracking noise that sounded like wood splintering, and she glanced just past her knees to see Skulduggery gripping the arms of the chair so hard that cracks were appearing in the wood. He wasn't strong enough to break it, not while strapped down, but even just the cracks showed the emotions he was feeling.

"Valkyrie, I know you're in pain, and you're embarrassed, but I need you to come and unchain me. I need to get you out of here. Sanguine is going to come back, and he is going to do worse things if I don't get you out of here. Please Valkyrie, It's not far. You're doing exactly what he wanted you to do. That's why he unchained you, to prove that he broke you."

She sniffed but made no attempts to move or speak. "The Valkyrie I know wouldn't let herself be broken. I know you Valkyrie Cain, you won't let him beat you like this will you?" He sighed quietly and dropped his head, moving his fingers from the arms of the chair and clenching his fists. "You're not just Valkyrie Cain to me, your Stephanie Edgley, the 12 year old girl who demanded that I bring her into the dangerous world of magic, the girl who faces danger even when it scares her, who protects and saves the world and her family, even though nobody ever knows. Are you, Stephanie Edgley, Valkyrie Cain, going to let a low life scum like Sanguine beat you?"

Valkyrie knew what Skulduggery was doing, he was good at this, making impressive speeches that convince people to do the things he wants them to. She'd seen him do it before, and she knew it well enough to recognise it now. But that was the thing about Skulduggery, he never said anything that was directly untrue when he spoke like this to her, and she knew that everything he was saying made sense, even if he was saying it to make her get up. He was trying to fuel her anger and Sanguine, and her pride, to give her enough strength to save them when he couldn't.

She lifted her head, keeping her eyes on the floor. He was right. She knew he was right. She couldn't stay here and let this happen. She had a family, her mother and father, and her little sister, she couldn't just disappear, so they'd have no idea what happened to her. She pushed herself up and whimpered at the pain, but did her best to ignore it as she crawled across the room and stopped in front of Skulduggery, still not looking at him. She could hardly care that she was naked now. She was still embarrassed by it, but it was nowhere near as bad as the other things she was feeling, the shame and the dirtiness.

She slowly reached out and undid his right hand slowly, pulling off the metal cuff before she got to work on the many leather straps holding down the arm. As soon as it was loose enough for him to pull it free he did, and she sat back, unable to hold herself up any longer. He undid his other arm and then his legs, one by one, his long fingers moving quickly and expertly, never fumbling, doing exactly what was necessary to save them.

Once he was free he dropped from the chair onto his knees in front of her, pulling her gently into his arms. She winced but didn't pull away, just let him hold her against his hard body. She could feel his ribs and the bones in his arms, and it was somehow comforting. He wasn't the same as Sanguine, he wouldn't hurt her. She sobbed into his shoulder and clutched him as tightly as she could with her weak arms. She couldn't help the tears that flowed, she'd always hated crying in front of Skulduggery, and she still remembered the time when she'd had her tooth knocked out by Sanguine and cried. He'd stepped back like she had stung him. He didn't now though, he just held her, not speaking, not moving, just holding her.

To soon however he had to pull away and stand up. He walked to the door and opened it, looking out into the dark hallway. When he seemed satisfied with what he saw he walked back over, pulling of his torn jacket as he came. He draped it over her shoulders and then very gently and slowly, pulled her into her arms and picked her up. She groaned in pain. The wound on her arms and stomach were still bleeding, and she suspected she was still bleeding downstairs too. Her chest ached and it hurt to breathe, and she knew for sure now that her rib was broken. He went to take a step and she clenched her fingers in his shirt, the movement jarring her body and causing her pain.

He stopped and the lifted off the ground and started flying down the hallway. The wind was cold, but Skulduggery's jacket helped to keeo the worst of it away, and it at least covered some of her body. She didn't know how he knew where they were going, but soon they were outside and flying above the city, drops of her blood falling behind them as they left them behind, flying towards Gordon's house. The window to her room was broken, and her brought them in through there, laying her gently on the bed and pulling the curtains across the window to keep out the breeze.

He pulled the blanket over her and sat next to her. It was clear to her that he had no idea how to react or what to do. He rested a hand gently on her shoulder and he looked down at her. She knew she was still bleeding, but she didn't think it was as bad anymore, at least slowing down. He pulled out his phone and started speaking quietly, asking whoever was on the other end to come over.

"No, I can't tell you." He said. "Because I can't. Please just come, it's quite urgent. She needs you." It was quiet for a moment as the other person spoke. "She's hurt, and I can't help her… no… no I can't…. good, get here as soon as you can."

He hung up and slid the phone into his pocket. "Tanith is coming Valkyrie. She'll take care of you." He rested his long, gloved fingers in her hair, and she lay silently, waiting for Tanith to get there and help her with her pain.

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><p><strong>Was I right? do you hate me? kay I can explain<strong>

**Firstly, Sanguine is trying to get to Skulduggery first, and there would be no pointin torturing him phsycaly, because he's been tortured by the faceless ones for 11 months. Nothing Sanguine does is going to compare.**

**Secondly, he's also trying to get back at Valkyrie, and I mean, think about it, she gets beat up every day, beating her up isnt going to break her, she'll just heal up and go on with her life. So it's only logical that this would be the one true way to break her. And I mean, Skulduggery may seem calm, but just think about how guilty he must be feeling right now, after watching his best friend get almost raped in front of him, and know its his fault.**

**So yeah, thats my logic, Im sure I could come up with more brilliant and completely amazing reasons but I simply cannot be bothered.**

**So please review, the more reviews I get the sooner I get up the next chapter. And the closer you all get to Valduggery.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey Guys, I'm sorry it took so long, Im studying for my final exams so Ive been a bit busy, but heres the next chapter. **

**It's a little slow, and a bit of a filler, but i guess its better than nothing. **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and Id like to give a special thanks to Shnizel who sent me a pm, which reminded to post this, which I finished a few days ago. **

**Enjoy R&R**

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><p>Tanith flew along the wet, empty road towards Valkyrie's house, the only sound she could hear the loud roar of her bikes engine being pushed to its limits. She didn't know what was wrong with Valkyrie, Skulduggery wouldn't tell her over the phone, but she could hear in his voice that something bad had happened, and now she was on her bike only a minute or two away from the big house. She was worried about Valkyrie, she got hurt all the time, and Skulduggery never called her like that, and he sounded so worried, she was scared for her best friend.<p>

She tapped the brakes as she approached the turn into the large gates, and turned the handles bars slightly, sliding around the turn, her inside foot out to keep the bike from going out from underneath her. Anybody without her reflexes would have been killed from attempting a turn like that, but she gracefully pulled out of the skid and floored it up the long driveway, skidding to a stop. She dropped the kick stand and hurried up to the door, it was wide open, not a good sign.

"Skulduggery!" She called running into the house, looking around.

"Up here Tanith." He answered her, his voice bare audible.

She jogged up the stairs and went straight to Valkyrie's bedroom. Skulduggery was in the doorway, waiting for her, his head hung low and his hands hanging by his side. He looked up a little as she approached and stood in her way, obviously not wanting her to go in yet. Had it been anyone else Tanith would had pushed them aside and forced her way through, but not with Skulduggery. She had guts, but she wasn't foolish enough to cross Skulduggery when he was protecting Valkyrie.

"What's happened? Is it bad?" She asked the first two things on her mind, trying to look past him. The room was dark, but she thought she could see a lump under the covers on the bed.

"It's bad." He answered after a moment of silence. He reached his hand up and rubbed the back of his skull, glancing over his shoulder into the bedroom. "Sanguine caught us off guard…"

Tanith swallowed a lump in her throat, her worry even worse than before. Sanguine hated Valkyrie, he would do anything to hurt her. Tanith was surprised she was still alive. "Is she okay? I mean, how bad did he hurt her? What did he do?" Her urgency was clear in her voice, and Skulduggery, seemingly incapable of speaking any longer, stepped out her way. She rushed past him into the room and sat on the edge of the bed where Valkyrie was laying under the covers, only her face exposed. Her face which was bruised and bleeding. She had two black eyes, and small cuts covering her face, some still bleeding. Tanith thought her nose could be broken too.

Her eyes were closed, but her fast breathing revealed that she didn't seem to be sleeping. "Val Hun, it's just me. Are you okay?"

Valkyrie's dark eyes opened and looked up at Tanith, and she could see the pain in them.

"What happened Val? Are you okay?" She reached out to put her hand on Valkyrie's shoulder through the blanked, and the dark eyes followed the movement warily.

"I… I'm fine." She whispered, turning her face into her pillow. "I just want to sleep. Please leave." Tanith could hear that she was trying to hold back tears and looked over at Skulduggery, her eyes questioning.

He sighed quietly and walked across the room, rolling his sleeves up to just below his elbows. He sat on the bed next to Tanith, but he made no move to touch Valkyrie.

"Valkyrie," He said her name gently, as though she was so fragile she might break if he spoke to harshly. "You need to let Tanith take a look at your cuts, and then she can help you clean up okay?" She nodded her head slowly but still kept her face hidden.

Skulduggery carefully pulled the blanket down to her face, exposing her top half. His suit jacket was covering her messily, but Tanith could see that she wasn't wearing anything else. He turned away and looked at the opposite wall, an attempt to give her some privacy, and nodded his head for her to continue.

She pulled the blanket off of her and made a small noise of pity. Valkyrie's entire torso was bruised and bleeding, and she could easily see the long gashes on her arms, and the worse one on her stomach. But there were many smaller ones, where the skin had split from being hit. "Oh god Val." She whispered. Valkyrie wrapped her arms around her chest, covering her breasts, and shielding her from the cold air.

"That's not all." Skulduggery muttered, his long fingers in fists on his knees. He stood up quickly and walked to the door. "You'll see… I'll go run her a bath." He strode out of the room his hands shaking angrily at his sides.

"What did that sicko do to you Val?" She asked, carefully inspecting the wounds on her arms. "Your covered in cuts and bruises. And I think you have two broken ribs." She added as she ran her fingers lightly over the lump on the side of the girls chest.

Now that Skulduggery was out of the room Valkyrie turned back and looked at Tanith, her eyes filled with tears. She pushed herself up from the bed so she was sitting, wincing as she moved her legs. Tanith steadied her and hugged her gently, still oblivious to the worst of the situation. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there to help you Val." She leaned back and grabbed the edge of the blanket. "Skulduggery said your hurt more Val, but don't worry, I'll get you something for the pain and we can stitch up all your cuts."

She turned her eyes down and pulled the blanket back. Her eyes scanned what she saw for only a second before it sunk in and her hand flew to her mouth to stop herself from swearing. The insides of her legs were covered in blood, some of it fresh, and it was coming from in between her legs. Valkyrie whimpered but stayed otherwise silent.

"I'm going to kill him." She said angrily, pulling the blanket back up to cover her. She looked into her eyes and grabbed her hands. "He won't get away with this Val I promise, I'll make him suffer for doing this to you." She pulled her into another hug and stayed that way until Skulduggery called her from the bathroom. She pulled back and stood up to grab a clean towel from the desk across the room. She brought it back and wrapped it around the bleeding girl to cover her up a little.

"Do you need me to carry you Val?" She asked softly, giving her the option, although she thought it would be for the best if she did let her carry her.

She shook her head. "No… I'll walk." She slid slowly to the edge of the bed and put her feet on the ground. Tanith could tell she was in a lot of pain, but didn't object, and helped her to her feet. They walked slowly down the hall, her arm around Valkyrie to support her as she walked, wincing and groaning in pain if she tried to walk too fast or step too far. Tanith was patient though, and soon enough they were in the bathroom. Skulduggery went to stand outside the door while Tanith helped Valkyrie into the hot bath.

Tanith could see her gritting her teeth as the hot water ran over all of her wounds, soaking into them and washing the blood from her skin. "I'll be back in a minute okay, I'm just going to go speak to Skulduggery, you just relax." Valkyrie nodded and kept her eyes on the water.

"What the hell happened?" Tanith demanded in an angry whisper once the bathroom door was closed and she was standing in front of Skulduggery. "How the hell did that happen to her? How did Sanguine even get her?"

Skulduggery sighed and looked at the door before he walked down the hall a little, out of Valkyrie's hearing range. Tanith followed and stood in front of him again, her arms folded across her chest and a glare on her face. She wasn't going to leave without an answer. "We were watching a movie, and a tree fell on the Bentley, so Valkyrie said I could stay here, so I didn't have to go out in the rain. She went to sleep and I started meditating. I thought we'd be safe, if I thought there was a chance of anything happening…. Well…. I wouldn't have let it happen."

He dropped his hands into his pockets and leaned back against the wall. "I got attacked from behind, I fought my way out of the room and went straight to Valkyrie's, but she wasn't in there. They got me from behind again and bound me." Although he didn't say it Tanith knew he meant they bound his hands and his magic. "And dragged me down to a waiting car, when they put Valkyrie in the car she was unconscious. They took us to some secret room and tied me to a chair, and chained Valkyrie to the wall…."He trailed off. "Do I need to continue?"

Tanith swallowed and shook her head. She could figure out the rest for herself. "What a sicko, I can't believe he raped her. I always knew he wanted to kill her, we all did, but rape her?" Her disgust was clear in her voice. How could this have happened to poor Valkyrie?

"He did it because he wanted to get to me."

"What?"

Skulduggery ran his gloved hands over the front of his skull. "He was hired to torture me, and he knew that the best way to get to me was her. He said that hurting her wasn't enough, she gets beat up every day and he said it wouldn't affect her enough, he wanted to hurt us both." Tanith could hear the pain in his voice, and she rested her hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off. "It's my fault it happened. She got hurt because of me."

Tanith didn't know what to say. She knew what he was thinking, he was thinking about his wife and child, who had died in front of him. He blamed himself for that too, and she knew there was nothing she could say that would make him feel better about this. "It's not your fault." She said quietly before she turned to walk back to the bathroom.

Valkyrie sat quietly in the hot water of the bath while Tanith and Skulduggery spoke out in the hall. She could hear small snippets their conversation, but she already knew what they were talking about, so she didn't listen, and just started washing herself clean, scrubbing the sweat and blood off her skin, turning the water and ugly colour somewhere between red and brown. The water was a little bit too hot, it burnt her skin and hurt her cuts, but she thought Skulduggery had done pretty good for someone who couldn't really tell how hot the water was, and what was an appropriate temperature for her bath.

She picked up a face washer and cleaned her top half first, the sensible part of her mind telling her to do it first while the water was still kind of clean. The cuts from Sanguine's razor were already going to scar, and she didn't need them getting infected. By the time Tanith came back she had cleaned all of her front, being extra careful with the wounds that had finally stopped bleeding, and had also cleaned herself down there as much as she could without herself too much. Tanith didn't say anything, and neither did Valkyrie. They just both stayed silent while Tanith took the cloth from Valkyrie and cleaned her back for her.

Tanith pulled out some of that funny smelling yellow rock from her pocket and broke some up and dropped it into the bath, telling Valkyrie to lie down a little more so the water could reach all of her. The bath was huge, and she could sink down until only her neck and head were above water. Tanith washed her hair while she closed her eyes and let the yellow rock work its magic. When her hair was clean Tanith went to her room and found her some pyjamas, warm ones with long sleeves and full length pants, and sat them on the sink.

"Do you need me to stay tonight Val?" She asked, looking worried and tired. It was obvious that she'd been up for a while, and it was pretty late. Valkyrie felt guilty for keeping her friend here like this, when she was quite capable of bathing herself, even if it hurt and she had appreciated the help.

"No, you can go home and sleep." She said her eyes on Tanith, her face empty. She was upset, hurt and scared, but she didn't want Tanith to know that, she didn't want anyone to know that. She didn't want to let what Sanguine did to her break her like he wanted it to.

"It's okay Val, I'll stay if you want me to, I know you've been through a lot." She grabbed a towel out of the cupboard and handed it to Valkyrie who climbed carefully over the edge of the bath. Most of the bruises were less intense, looking a few days old instead of a few hours old, though the worse ones hadn't been affected. The smaller cuts were now healing scabs, but the two on her arms and the one on her stomach were not scabbed over yet, and barely closing.

"No, go home and sleep, you can come back tomorrow." She was surprised by how small her voice was, but at least it didn't shake.

"Okay." She said after a few moments, though she didn't sound too happy about it. "I'll come back in the morning and check those cuts. If they haven't healed more by then we might have to give you some stitches." Valkyrie cringed at the thought of stitches. Before Kenspeckle had died she'd never needed stitches, he'd always fixed things up without scaring and without needles and thread. But now that he was dead Valkyrie had gotten stitches many times, and she hated them.

"If I have to." She mumbled, fidgeting with the edge of the towel as she slowly dried herself, not able to bend over and dry her legs, but she didn't want Tanith to do it for her, so she busied herself drying her torso, hoping the blond would leave before she realised Valkyrie actually needed the help.

"Okay, I'll see you in the morning Val." She patted her gently on the shoulder before she hurried from the room, and Valkyrie knew she wouldn't be sleeping when she got home. She'd be calling everyone she knew to try and hunt down Sanguine.

He dried herself as much as she could without reaching up or down, and carefully pulled on the long sleeved shirt, hissing in pain as her cuts pulled from stretching. She sat down on the edge of the bath to pull on the pants, and struggled to push herself back up again. But she managed, and soon she was opening the door to the hall. Skulduggery was leaning against the wall opposite the door, hands in his pockets, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up, showing his Ulna and radius.

She looked at him for a moment and leaned against the door frame, all of her muscles aching and her cuts stinging. She was to awake to go back to sleep, but she had no motivation to do anything other than curl in a little ball and cry. She felt quite childish for it, but suddenly she wanted her mother. She wanted to put her head in her mother's lap and go to sleep feeling safe and warm. In the normal world where she didn't have to worry about crazy American men with no eyes and forever scarring razor blades.

Skulduggery pulled his left hand out of his pocket and twisted his fingers, and Valkyrie felt the water lifting out of her dripping hair. "Thanks." She muttered when her hair was dry and the water was running down the sink in the bathroom. She started walking down the hall slowly and Skulduggery followed beside her, walking silently. She reached the top of the stairs and looked down, debating whether she would be able to make it down or not.

"Do you need me to carry you?' Skulduggery asked softly.

"No." She said, shaking her head. She stepped down and winced at the pain that shot through her, but made no sounds of pain. "I'll manage, it's just stairs." She didn't want him to see the pain she was feeling. She wanted to cry and scream, a huge tsunami of emotions boiling inside her, but for both their sakes she stayed quite. Tears blurring her vision and threatening to spill, but not once leaving her eyes. She knew if she cried she would feel worse, and Skulduggery would feel guiltier. She didn't think either of them could take it.

Just as she was reaching the bottom few stairs the phone started ringing, the loud noise sounding loud and shrill, echoing off the walls of the silent house. She gritted her teeth and forced herself down the stairs quicker than she would have liked and rushed to the phone, a few tears running down her cheeks at the pain. She kept her face away from Skulduggery's view so he wouldn't notice. "Hello?"

"Stephanie, I'm sorry did I wake you?" Stephanie was surprised to hear her mother's voice on the other end of the phone. She glanced at the clock on the wall across the room. It was about 4 in the morning.

"No, I was awake… couldn't sleep. What's up?" Her voice sounded un caring even to herself.

Her mother didn't even seem to notice though. "Oh that's good. Are you busy today? I was wondering if you could do me a favour?"

"What favour?"

"I have to go to London for the day, and maybe a night, and I was wondering if you could watch your sister while I was gone?"

Valkyrie frowned. Bring her sister here? That sounded more dangerous than leaving her in the middle of a shopping centre alone. "I don't know mum, I might be busy later tonight, isn't there anywhere else she can go? What about Beryl?"

"They are out town."

"Why are you going to London?"

"My uncle Patrick died, and I have to go to the funeral. Please Steph? Nobody else can take her."

Valkyrie turned her had to glance at Skulduggery who was watching curiously, obviously trying to figure out what was going on the conversation. "Yeah okay mum." She said, finally giving in. She didn't have the energy or will or argue any longer. And she knew her mother was close to her uncle.

"Thanks sweetie, I'll bring her over now." Valkyrie didn't have a chance to say anything else because her mother hung up the phone.

She walked into the kitchen and sat on one of the stools at the bench, wincing but otherwise okay. "Well?" She asked when Skulduggery followed her in.

"Well what?"

"I know you want to ask me, so just do it."

"I don't want to ask you anything."

"Yes you do."

"Okay I do."

"So?"

"What's happening?"

"Mums bringing Sarah over for the night, she has to go to London."

Skulduggery who was currently holding the kettle, stopped and turned to look at her. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I don't see why not." Okay that was a lie, and both of them knew it.

"Valkyrie… I don't even think you're okay to look after yourself yet, and you want to look after your little sister as well?" He turned back around and poured the hot water in the cup in front of him. Her eyes followed him as he poured in some milk and even remembered to put in two spoons of sugar before he stirred it and placed it in front of her. "I just don't think it's a good idea."

"Well she is already on her way so it's too late." She took a sip of the well-made hot chocolate, enjoying the warmth that spread through her as she swallowed. "And I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I'm a little bit cut up but that's it… I'm fine." Another lie.

He rested his hand on her shoulder lightly, and she could feel his bony fingers through his gloves. "This isn't something that people get over in a few hours Valkyrie." He said quietly, and she had to swallow the tears that wanted so desperately to escape. She didn't want to talk about this, she wanted to pretend it never happened and do her best to get over it alone. But she knew Skulduggery cared to much to let her do that, he was probably worried she would blame herself. Which in some ways she did. "I know your trying to be brave, it's who you are, but your allowed to be upset."

She lifted the cup to her lips again and sipped, her eyes on the bench in front of her. Skulduggery let his hand fall away and moved to sit opposite her on one of the other stools, his hands resting lightly on the surface. "Thankyou… for getting me out…" She said eventually, her mind travelling and thinking of things she didn't want to see, remembering the feeling of his hands on her body, his blade cutting her open, his fists hitting her over and over. "I just…. I feel so _dirty._"

She wrapped her arms around her chest, feeling exactly as she said she did. She felt like no matter how hard she scrubbed it would never go away, and she was tempted to try. Before she even realised she was doing it she moved to the sink, scrubbing her hands under the running water to try and get rid of the filth she could feel. Only a moment later Skulduggery's gloved hand turned off the taps and pulled her back firmly. She tried to continue scrubbing, but he quickly plucked the sponge from her hands, dropping it in the sink. "Valkyrie stop."

"No… I can't, I need to get rid of it." He gripped her hands tightly in his and she struggled uselessly to get them back, but he wouldn't let them go until she calmed down. She felt a sob break through her chest, making her whole body shake, and for a moment Skulduggery seemed unsure of what to do, but only for a moment, and then he was pulling her against his hard frame, his skeletal arms wrapped around her tightly, supporting her as she sobbed into his shirt, her fingers clinging desperately to the thin material.

He picked her up and carried her to the lounge where he sat, cradling her in his arms as she cried. He listened quietly as she kept trying to force herself to stop, succeeding for a second before the sobs would come back and the tears continued flowing. She was just starting to calm down when there was a knock at the door. She breathed deeply but didn't move, and Skulduggery wasn't sure she even could. He shifted her off his lap and put her on the couch gently, tapping the marks on his shoulder blades to make a false face appear. Dark brown hair and brown eyes, he noticed as he walked past the mirror in the hall. The disadvantage to having a different face every time he activated the façade was that he had to pretend to be a different person every time he spoke to Valkyrie's parents.

He opened the door and smiled at his partners mother, who looked surprised to see him. "Hello, you must be Mrs Edgley." He said politely, offering his hand. She shook it, looking past him into the house. "I'm Mark." He continued, using the first name that popped into his head.

"It's nice to meet you Mark. Can I ask how you know Stephanie?" The woman asked, sounding both curious and suspicious about why this man was at her daughters house at this time in the morning, obviously having not just arrived.

"I'm a friend." He answered, and knew immediately that she didn't believe him. He felt himself blush a little when he realised what she was thinking. "Stephanie's just gone to have a shower, she said you were in a rush though. Would you like me to take Sarah so you don't have to wait around?"

Valkyrie's mother seemed a bit hesitant to leave her daughter with a stranger, but after an unnoticed twist of Skulduggery's fingers she could hear the water start in the downstairs bathroom. "Okay, I am in a rush." She shifted the toddler in her arms and handed the sleeping girl to Skulduggery. "Tell Stephanie I said thank you."

He nodded and closed the door awkwardly, holding little Sarah in on arm as he carried her into the lounge room. He sat her on the other couch and turned back to Valkyrie, who was sitting up now, her eyes red rimmed but free of tears. She stood up and walked over to him, giving him a quick hug and after a moment of hesitating she stretched onto her toes and kissed his cold cheek bone. "Thanks." She said quietly. "I'm going to go and have a shower." She'd already had a bath, but Skulduggery didn't argue, just let her wander into the bathroom, closing the door behind herself.

He pressed his gloved fingers against his cheek bone lightly, where he could still feel the warmth of her lips touching him. Why had she done that? Of all the years they had been working together, and even after all the things he had done for her, she had never kissed him on the cheek before. His mind wandering he turned his attention to the small girl beside him who was waking up.

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed it. Please review. Im a little unsure about where i will take this before I get to the end, so any suggestions would be good. Perhaps things you'd like to see happen? I could add them in. <strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone. :) So sorry it's been so long, ive been pretty busy with exams and stuff, but Ive finally finished the next chapter. I think it's a little shorter than the last one, so I apologise for that, but I needed to post this one so I could get the next one up sooner. And next chapter is when it will start to get interesting. **

**Ive also posted a sort of one-shot up, but its set after Death Bringer, so if you havent read it yet, don't read my fic. **

**On other news I will also be starting up a fanfic for Skulduggery Pleasant drabbles, because I have lots of little ideas, and that means Ill be able to give you guys something more often, so keep an eye out for that.**

**I'd also like to put a mention in here for yapyap, her SP fics are amazing, and reading them always seems to encourage me to continue with my own, so if you havent read her stuff, then please do, you won't regret it. **

**Read, Enjoy and Please review.**

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><p>Skulduggery was no stranger to looking after children, and although it had been a few hundred years it seemed to come back to him naturally, something he was both grateful for and resented. He smiled as he played with the little toddler, although inside he felt his heart ache a little for his own child he had lost. He never showed these feelings when the subject was brought up, and for the most part his casual attitude to the whole thing was real, he had forced himself to accept the loss and move on, although some times the feelings did sneak back in, as though to just remind him they were still there.<p>

Valkyrie was in the shower for a while, and although he was worried Skulduggery left her to herself. There was nothing he could do about what she was feeling, and he didn't want to make it worse. He didn't think she'd do anything drastic, and it could be dangerous to leave her baby sister alone while she was so full of energy.

When Valkyrie finally emerged from the bathroom, dressed in her protective black clothing, jacket and all, his eyes carefully scanned her. Her hands were red, he noticed, and although her sleeves hid her arms he knew the skin there would look the same. He had to look away to hide the sad expression that crossed his face. Having only acquired the façade a few years ago, after so long of having just a skull, he was still very terrible at hiding his emotions from his face, as Valkyrie had had to remind him many times.

When she saw Skulduggery sitting on the ground, his legs crossed, and her little sister crawling over his shoulders laughing, she relaxed a little, moving to sit in front of him, pulling the small girl into her lap to tickle her. Although Sarah was two and already knew how to speak pretty well, she was pretty shy when it came to actually talking, so Skulduggery had only heard her speak a handful of times.

They played with the girl for a few hours, and Skulduggery did his best to let Valkyrie deal with this in her own way. Every now and then she would wince if she moved wrong, and then she would blank out for a few minutes, her mind obviously wondering. Whenever this happened Skulduggery would just distract Sarah, giving Valkyrie a chance to compose herself. After a few moments she would snap out of it and plaster a fake smile on her face and play with her sister again.

Skulduggery didn't ask her about the kiss, and she didn't mention it, although it did stay on his mind through most of the day. A kiss on the cheek was quite a general act, something that women just tended to do, so he knew he shouldn't be looking into it too much, but this was Valkyrie, and it just hadn't seemed like her. A part of him was surprised, he had expected her to be disgusted by the idea of kissing him on his check bone, he was dead after all, and to most the idea of kissing a skull was repulsive.

Of course Valkyrie had never shown any kind of disgust when it came to him, she treated him like she would any other person she knew, dead or not, and Skulduggery really appreciated that. She was always worried when he got hurt, even though she knew he wouldn't die, and she'd always defended him when fletcher had argued he was dead, nothing but a skeleton. A 'man' she had called him, he was a man just like Fletcher, and his being a skeleton didn't change that.

He didn't really agree, obviously, he was just a skeleton, and just because he could feel emotion didn't mean he was a man, but he still appreciated the thought.

"How are you feeling?" He asked her as she laid Sarah down on the lounge, placing a blanket over the girl.

"I feel fine." She answered simply.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes"

"Is this one of those moments where a girl says that she is fine but she's really not?"

"Yes again."

"Are you going to cry again?"

"No"

"Good."

She glanced sideways at him, and he could see the corner of her lips twitch slightly, as though she wanted to smile. She didn't smile, but it was close enough.

He reached out gently took her hands, being careful not to hurt her with his leather gloves. He held her hands in front of her for a moment before pulling away. He didn't need to tell her to leave them there, she knew him well enough to know what he wanted. He drew his hand close and started drawing the moisture from the air to her hands, and soon they were encased in two bubbles of water.

"Burning yourself isn't going to help Valkyrie. Your just hurting yourself more."

"I know."

He bent down so she had to look him in the eyes, and he was glad for the façade he was wearing, so she could see the concern on his face. "Don't do it again please. Now come with me." He lead her into the downstairs bathroom, still keeping the bubbles around her hands as he went through the cupboards and finally found what he was looking for, a small tube of burn cream. "If we took you to the sanctuary they could heal this straight away"

"No," She said straight away, as he thought she would, "This is fine."

He nodded and said nothing else, just manipulated the water away from her hands to fall into the sink. He didn't want to ruin his black gloves, so he slid them off and sat them on the side of the sink neatly before taking her hand in one of his own, his long, skeletal fingers holding the burnt skin gently.

He opened the tube and squeezed some onto her left hand before he started carefully massaging the cool cream into her skin. He knew his fingers were hard, and the bones weren't the best for spreading the cream, but he managed to do it quite efficiently, being even more gentle after she winced when he started. Soon he moved onto the next hand and did the same until they were both covered and the cream had sunk into the skin.

He cleared his throat. "Would you like me to do your arms and back, or do you think you can do it yourself." He and Valkyrie were quite close, and more than once he had accidentally seen her in her underwear, and in one exceedingly awkward situation, completely naked. Not that he looked of course, being the gentleman he was, but it had taken the first glimpse for him to realise before he looked away, so he knew that it wouldn't be too odd for her to turn around and stand in her bra while he helped the burns on her back.

She carefully undid the jacket and slid it off, so she was standing in her sleeveless shirt that Ghastly had made for her. It was tight and black, and fit her form nicely, which was what she had asked for. She was proud of her new muscles, and had wanted to show them off. By the way she held her burnt arms self-consciously around herself he knew showing off her body was the last thing on her mind.

Her arms were as red as her hands, and looked quite painful. He couldn't really remember what it felt like to burn skin, all he remembered was that it was very, very painful, and he knew that she would be hurting even more from the way her sleeves had been rubbing against her arms all day.

The bones of fingers were too thin to really do such a large area of skin, so he found a small make-up sponge in the cupboard and started using that to do her arms. They stayed silent through the whole ordeal, but it didn't feel awkward. Valkyrie was tense, and her cheeks turned pink every time one of his fingers brushed against her skin, but he assumed that she was still very embarrassed.

After he did her arms she turned and unzipped her shirt (because it was designed with a zipper at the front) and slid it off, her arms automatically moving to cover her bra and chest, despite the fact that he couldn't see because her back was turned. Not that he would look because, even if she was nicely built, he was a gentleman, and she was Valkyrie, not some woman to stare at.

He did her back as quickly as he could, covering the whole red surface, and when he was done he helped her get her shirt back on, holding it for her to put her arms through like he would a jacket. When she reached for her coat he snatched it up and shook his head, his brown hair falling onto his forehead.

"The sleeves will rub." He said simply, moving out of the way so she could walk past him back into the house. She paused in front of him, her bottom lip between her teeth, a habit she had had ever since he had met her. He couldn't help but think it was cute; she was always so easy to read. After a moment she grabbed his hand, which was once again gloved, and lead him past the lounge room quietly so they wouldn't wake Sarah, and into the kitchen.

She let go of his hand and he moved to sit on one of the stools by the counter while she went to the fridge and poured herself something to drink.

"You seem to be handling this pretty well." He said hesitantly.

She shrugged and sat down opposite him. "I guess so."

""It's okay to be upset, what happened to you…" He trailed off awkwardly, not wanting to make her cry again. "No one's going to judge you if do get upset." He rested his gloved hand over hers.

She stared at him for a moment. "I said I'm fine." She pulled her hand away and picked up her cup, taking a sip. Her face void of any real emotion, although Skulduggery had known her long enough to be able to tell she was holding back. "I'm not going to let him get to me, that's exactly what he wants. And I don't want to even think about… what he's taken from me."

She quickly looked down into her cup, away from him, but not quick enough to hide the tears growing in her eyes. "I can't even consider myself a virgin anymore."

Skulduggery felt the facades cheeks heat up, a feature China had added last year without telling him. "Valkyrie… I… I mean, just because… that happened, doesn't mean you're not a virgin. I mean, if you consider your virginity to be physical maybe, but it's not about you know, the physical… I think that you really stop being a virgin the first time you… make love… not with anything else." By the time he was finished his cheeks were red. He and Valkyrie had had a few conversation like this, when she had started dating Fletcher, and he'd felt the need to give her 'the talk', but this was definitely more awkward. She wasn't a girl anymore, she was a woman.

Of course back in his day that wasn't how it worked at all, a woman didn't have a sex with a man until they were married, and they certainly didn't do anything before then, because a lady was supposed to be a virgin for her wedding night, and any sexual activity before then would take away that title. But Skulduggery knew things were different these days, sex wasn't looked at as being as special, and for Valkyrie's sake, he knew this was the right thing to say.

"You're a good friend." She said with a small smile, obviously his words had made her feel a little better. "Even if I don't think you believe what you said."

"Of course I believe it, if I didn't that would make me a liar."

"But you are a liar."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are, you lie all the time."

"Oh I never lie, give me one example."

"Three weeks ago you told Tanith I'd been magically turned into a boy."

"Well it is hard to tell sometimes with the clothes you wear."

"Oh my god, I don't look like a boy!"

Skulduggery smiled; glad to see he'd got her to show some emotion. "Are you really sure about that?" He teased, flashing his facades white teeth in a wide grin.

"Yes I'm sure! I'd know if I looked like a boy. And I have long hair!"

"Maybe you look like a boy who's too lazy to cut his hair."

She opened her mouth to retort but stopped and shot him a glare. "You're trying to distract me!"

"I'm not _trying _to do anything."

"Yes you are, we were arguing about how you are a liar."

"No we weren't"

"See you just lied right then."

Skulduggery chuckled and reached over to pat her on the shoulder. "I don't lie, Valkyrie; I just distort the truth to suit the situation."

He stood from his stool and picked up her nearly empty cup, walking over to the sink to rinse it out. Once it was clean he walked back behind her and so quick she didn't notice he pushed against the air, sending a gust of air to blow all of her long black hair into her face.

"Hey!"

He laughed and ran out of the kitchen, dodging the gust of air she sent in his general direction while trying to fix her hair. He jumped at the bottom of the stairs and flew up to the second floor of the house. If she had seen she would tell him he was cheating, and obviously he would argue.

He landed gracefully at the top of the stairs and ran into her room, dropping to the ground behind her bed, laughter building in his chest. But he didn't let it out, he didn't want to give away his position. He missed this, having fun with his partner. He knew she wasn't a little girl anymore, and she was lady, it wasn't 'suitable' for her to play silly games, but he had missed it.

She had distanced herself over the past year, stopped getting involved in wrestling matches. Every now and then she'd forget herself and start to muck about, but after a few minutes she'd catch herself and blush, mumbling excuses about her hair and such. He'd found it odd at first, but he'd gotten used to it.

She had changed a lot over the past year, she acted completely different around him. Always blushing and stuttering. She was still Valkyrie, and their friendship was just as strong as ever, but there was something different, something that was causing her to treat him differently. He hadn't really paid it too much attention, he'd thought she would tell him eventually, but it had been a year and he still knew nothing.

He could hear her footsteps on the stairs now, running up, closer, closer, and then she was running past, obviously moving to check a different room.

He chuckled and stood, darting back to the door and running quietly through. He forgot to look up the hall, just ran for the stairs, and that was his mistake. He heard her laugh from behind him, and he didn't have a chance to react. She tackled him from behind, hitting him in the back. And very much unlike himself, he lost his balance, sending them tumbling together, over the banister and straight towards the hard floor below.

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><p><strong>So, I know that someone will probably try and abuse me about Valkyrie being kind of happy at the end, but to be honest I feel it fit just right. Of course she is still very upset, and I will be showing how it has affected her more in the next chapter, but thats the thing about love, that special person can make you feel a little better no matter what, and Skulduggery is able to make her smile, even if it is for just a little while.<strong>

**Hope your excited for the next chapter. I'm already almost finished it, so Ill update after I have a few replies ((Hint hint))**

**And suggestions are always welcome, and if you have any ideas you'd like to see me write in my drabbles fic, send me a message and I'll happily do that for you. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello to anyone reading this. Sorry it took so long to get this updated, I had actualy almost finished it about a week ago, but my computer deleted it, so alas, I had to start again.**

**I apologise for any bad grammer, It's 2:20 am, Ive been writing all night and I put off studying for my exams to get this finished, so hopefully you will all love me enough for that that you won't notice as much. However unlikely that is.**

**(I will also point out that because of said exams, i will have a little trouble getting time to write, but cross your fingers and hope that I will want to write even more when I have the chances)**

**I hope you like this chapter, because its a pretty important one.**

**Read, enjoy and please review :)**

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><p>Valkyrie laughed as they tumbled over the banister, the thrill of falling overtaking her true emotions for the moment and just having fun. She didn't bother trying to push against the air and stop their fall, she'd leave that to Skulduggery. Their fall slowed incredibly just before they hit the floor, slowing enough that there was no pain when they hit. She chuckled again, as they lay on the floor, limbs entangled and her breathing fast from the thrill.<p>

She stayed where she was for a second, enjoying the closeness, before she pushed herself of him to stand up. She stumbled a little because their legs were still all twisted, but she managed to get to her feet without falling over, which she considered a great accomplishment, considering the sharp pain in her stomach and the burn inside of her which she was doing her best to ignore.

Skulduggery got to his feet quickly and straightened his suit indignantly, obviously not pleased about being so easily ambushed. "You're lucky you didn't hurt yourself." He said, though she could see he was trying to keep himself from smiling. The facades face was always so easy to read. "And more importantly, you're lucky you didn't hurt me."

She rolled her eyes, but already the smile was fading, now that the rush from their little game was going away her feeling slowly seeped back inside her, the feeling of foreign unwanted hands on her body, the sting of shiny blade on her stomach, the ache that wouldn't seem to leave the area between her legs. She sighed and forced herself to smile, not wanting him to see how much she was hurting. She had to be strong. And it was her own fault anyway.

"You're so egotistical, has anyone ever told you that?"

"Many times." He said smartly, picking up his hat and dusting it off carefully.

"You'd think you'd have got the message by now." She plucked his hat from his hands and placed it on top of her head. "I think I earned this, seeing as you were so easily taken off your feet." She smirked at him cheekily. "How very ungraceful of you Mr Pleasant."

"Don't be foolish Valkyrie, I'm me, I'm never ungraceful. It is physically impossible."

"And your tumbling over the banister would be a show of what? Your slick dance moves?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "My dear Valkyrie that was merely me giving you a chance to think you'd won against me for once. I thought you needed it, because I've been beating you for so long, I thought I'd be a gentleman and give you a chance to feel good about yourself."

She narrowed her eyes at him, showing she knew he was lying. He chuckle and reached out to grab his hat. She stepped back out of his reach.

"Nope, my hat now. I earned it. It looked better on me anyone." She grinned. "I look sexy and mysterious."

"You look like you stole a hat from someone with amazing style, now give it back."

"No, make me." She challenged. This easy banter they shared distracted her from her thoughts, made her feel better, she couldn't ignore the physical pain she was feeling, but at least this helped her ignore the emotional pain.

He sighed like he was going to give up, and then so quickly she almost didn't get away he sprung forward, hand out. She sprang backwards, just out of his reach, but felt her back hit one of the walls of the hall they were now standing in. He grinned at her and stepped closer. She quickly put her hands on top of her head, holding the hat in place.

"You'll never get it back."

He put his hands on either side of her, and raised his eyebrows. "You're not going anywhere until I get my hat back."

Valkyrie felt her heart leap into her throat as she looked up at him, his tall, very thin frame so close to her but not touching, and suddenly she had to focus very hard on keeping her breathing even. "You're very annoying, you know that right?" She asked breathlessly. He didn't seem to notice.

"And yet you still find me oddly attractive," He smiled, "And very handsome of course."

She knew he was joking of course, but her smile faltered for just a second. She chuckled, sounding a little off and shoved at him, though it was half hearted and he didn't budge. For a skeleton he was very strong…. And firm…. And tall... and- She shook her head a little, forcing her thoughts back to the present. "You wear a different face every day."

"And yet my impeccable dress sense and winning personality overpower the weirdness of my wearing different faces every day, and women everywhere find themselves swooning whenever I'm near."

Valkyrie stared at him, hoping he couldn't hear her heart thundering in her chest. _Oh god it's true, _she thought to herself, and even her mental voice sounded breathless, _It is so, so true Skulduggery. _

"Dear Gods, who inflated you're ego; I swear it wasn't this huge before."

He tilted his head, which looked a little odd when he was wearing a face. "Valkyrie, I can't help it if I have a way with women, but to have my full effect I need my hat, so as cute as you look wearing it I do need it back, please hand it over."

If Valkyrie had had anything in her mouth she would have choked, but as it was all she could do was splutter uselessly for a few seconds before she took a deep breath and lean back against the wall. He hadn't meant in the way she wished he did, but it still made her head spin and her heart leap to hear him call her cute. "I told you, make me." She retorted, her voice weaker than before. Obviously he was still completely oblivious to the effect he had on her.

He narrowed his eyes and grinned evilly, stepping closer to her, their bodies so close to touching that she thought she was going to go crazy. God how did he do this to her? Her breath hitched a little, and she knew that it would be best for her sanity if she just handed over the hat, but for some reason she stayed right where she was, hands on head, looking up into the handsome face he was wearing. Oh she would regret this later, her heart would ache and she'd hate herself for this punishment, but right now all she wanted was this, to be this close to him, even if it was just for a moment and not for the reason she truly wanted.

"Valkyrie," He said slowly, his voice low and extremely sexy. Her knees went weak and she had to lean against the wall fully for support. "You do know I could take it from you in a second by force if I wanted to right?"

"Yes." She breathed, not even able to think enough to argue with him like she usually would. She noticed his left eyebrow twitch in surprise. So he had noticed.

"So why not just give it to me now, save yourself the shame of being beaten by me once again." He was speaking slowly, humour in his voice, as well as a hint of persuasion that made her want to just give in and give him whatever he wanted.

"Nope, I told you, it's mine now, until you earn it back."

He smirked, before she could dart out of the way his fingers shot forward, tickling her ribs expertly. He'd had six years to learn how to tickle her, and now he knew how to do it perfectly. She bit her lip and wriggled, trying to keep her hands on the hat, but he just doubled his efforts, and as soon as her hands began to loosen he pushed her lightly against the wall, holding her there while he plucked the hat from her head and placed it on his own. "Ah, how I've missed you."

_Oh god, Oh my god, _was all she could think. Skulduggery had his arm across her chest, pinning her to the wall. It was pressed against her breasts, though he hadn't seemed to notice yet, and their bodies were just touching. There was no force, but they were touching. _Move away, please move away, _She begged silently in her mind. Her body was tingling where they touched, and her mind was fogged, the only real coherent thought she had was that she needed to kiss him, and if he didn't move soon she wouldn't be able to stop herself.

He smiled proudly and looked down at her, the smile fading as he took in her strained expression. "What's wrong, did I hurt you?"

She shook her head. "Then what's wrong?"

She let out a shaky breath, and when she breathed back in again it pressed against his arm, making the fabric rub against her from the pressure, and she almost moaned. He wasn't doing it on purpose, she reminded herself, he hasn't even realised. "Nothing," She lied, her eyes anywhere but his face, "I'm fine."

He used his spare hand to touch her chin, using his thin bony fingers to tilt her head up so she was looking at him. "You can trust me Valkyrie, I know there's something going on."

"There's not, I'm fine I swear."

"I don't mean just now, I mean in general." He looked down at her, concerned, not even seeming to notice just how close they were. "I know there's something wrong with you. You've been acting different for months now, I didn't say anything, I thought you would come to me… but you didn't." Almost instantly the fun atmosphere was gone, and she really didn't like the way this conversation was headed.

"This isn't like with Darquess, it's really not important Skulduggery, please just…" She trailed off, not sure what she wanted, she wanted him to move away, to move closer, to stop asking her what was wrong, to keep worrying about her, to hold her and kiss her, and tell her he loved her. "I can't, I really can't." She shoved at his chest again, a little more solid this time, her need to get away growing desperate.

He pushed back against her hands and pressed against her chest a little harder with his arm, keeping her from getting any real strength behind her push. She knew she could use air to push him away, but that might make him angry, plus, with his arm pressing against her breasts like that she doubted she would be able to concentrate enough. Already she could feel her hands shaking with the amount of effort she was putting into controlling herself.

He sighed. "Valkyrie, why lie to me? I'm much too old and wise to fall for such tricks, and I'm very serious when I say, I'm not letting you go until you tell me. I gave you time to come to me, and now I need to know what you're keeping from me, we're friends, and I want to do everything in my power to help you." He smiled and tilted his head, which put their faces even closer, and that was it, she gave in.

A year she had been perfectly controlled, holding back and now everything seemed to go in slow motion as a pained noise left her lips, and her fingers gripped the front of his rumpled shirt, tugging him forward, until their lips connected, not even giving him a chance to be surprised. The moment their lips met her heart leapt in her chest, made her feel like she was going to explode, despite the fact that she was kissing the façade, and in the back of her mind she knew it wasn't the same as kissing him properly. But it still felt so good.

It lasted barely a second, and then he was pushing away from her, stumbling back until he hit the other wall of the hall, his eyes wide in surprise, and his hand over his mouth as he stared at her. The small piece of hope she'd felt was slowly fading. He was reacting very badly.

She stared back. What could she say, she'd lost control and kissed him, after so much effort of pretending, she'd messed everything up.

She opened her mouth to apologise, but no sound wanted to come up, her blood was still pumping hard through her veins, her lips still tingled, and despite how awful the situation was, she was turned on. She closed her mouth, unable to speak and just looked at Skulduggery, at the surprise that was written all over the façade. Whatever he had thought was wrong with her, he hadn't expected that.

"Oh," He whispered quietly, the silence of the hall allowing his voice to carry to her. "I see."

"I- I'm so sorry." She leaned back against the wall, needing it to support her so she wouldn't fall to her knees like she wanted to. She wanted to lie, to make up excuses, and perhaps a few months ago she might have, but she knew there was no use, it wouldn't work, so all she could do was stand there and wait for him to decide what to do.

He slowly stood up straight, stepping away from the wall, and straightened up his shirt before he slowly undid the top button, at first she was confused, but she understood when he reached inside and the façade suddenly melted away, leaving his own grinning skull to look at her. Were this any other situation she'd call him a coward for getting rid of the face that would show his emotions, but right now she could understand.

He tilted his head forward a little and when he spoke, the pity in his voice almost tore her heart in half. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise, I should have noticed."

She rubbed her face with her hands, trying desperately to quell the emotions that were rising inside her. "I didn't want you to notice, I don't know how I kept it from you this long, but I didn't want you to know." She moved her hands and looked at him. "I was just going to pretend, you didn't have to know, we could have just gone on like normal, and you wouldn't have had to deal with this." Despite the fact that her eyes were dry there was tears in her voice, and she was talking fast, like she always did when she was freaking out.

Her frustration was growing, and although she was frustrated with Skulduggery for pushing her, she knew it was her fault, for losing control, for keeping it a secret, for falling in love with him. But she wanted him, and she knew that if he would just give her a chance to love him then they could be together and be happy. She didn't care that he was a skeleton, she knew he didn't have the same… things as other men, and actual sex was out of the question, but that didn't matter. Didn't that just show how much she loved him?

She looked at his blank, grinning skull, which was angled towards the ground and took a hesitant step towards him, her legs shaking. "Please don't hate me." She begged quietly. "I can't help it, I…" She tried to get the words out, but they wouldn't come, if she said them, it would make everything to real.

Skulduggery sighed and pulled his hat off with one hand, running the other over his smooth white skull. It was a moment before he spoke. "I'm sorry, I didn't notice. I should have." He looked up at her. "I…you have to understand Valkyrie…. I'm over 400 years old… I'm a skeleton, I'm dead, and your just a girl… yes, you're 18, and that makes you a woman and I understand that, but in most people's eye… your still a child…you and me, I just don't see how it could work out."

She bit her lips and dug her nails into the palm of her hands, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill. She had expected this of course, but she'd never imagined those words could hurt so much. He stepped forward slowly, hesitantly and put a hand on her shoulder, as though he was worried he would be encouraging her feelings by comforting her. "Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

She laughed bitterly and gave him a disbelieving look, a few tears managing to make their way down her face. "Do you think I would have kept it to myself for this long if I hadn't already considered all of that? I already know all of these things; I knew you would say all of this, so I kept it to myself." She looked away from his face and glared at his shirt, a slow but steady stream of tears running down her cheeks. She glanced up at him desperately. "But I know we could work Skulduggery, there are so many things that say we would be good together."

He shook his head. "I'm sorry Valkyrie…"

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><p>Skulduggery was shocked, to say the least. When he had begun pestering Valkyrie, finding out she had feelings for him was the last thing he expected. He'd thought maybe she had a secret boyfriend, or knew a secret he didn't, or something else as equally mundane. Those thoughts had of course blown out the metaphorical window when he'd felt her soft lips against his. It had taken him a moment to react, a split second where the wonderful feeling of the kiss had overpowered all awareness of the situation, but then of course he'd remembered exactly who it was that was kissing him, and that was the end of that.<p>

She hadn't yet said that she loved him, but he knew it without her saying it. His mind wanted him to believe that to her it was a crush, and he couldn't help but think that's all it really was, but he could see it in those dark eyes of hers that it was much more to her, she thought she loved him, and that made the whole thing much, much worse. She couldn't truly love him of course, he knew that, after all, he wasn't even alive; he was just a walking talking skeleton, not at all boyfriend material.

He had no real heart in his chest, but the feeling of a heart still remained, and when the tears started flowing down her face it felt like his non-existent heart was breaking. This was his fault. He should have realised this would happen, it was natural for teenage girls to get crushes on older men who influenced their lives, and nobody influenced Valkyrie's life more than Skulduggery had. He'd taken her from her old life and thrown her into a world of magic and fun, a world with charming skeletons and plenty of fun and dangerous adventures. How could she not get a crush on him after he'd given her all that?

She stepped back to lean against the wall again, and he let his hand slip off of her shoulder. They stayed silent for a while, just looking at each other, Valkyrie still crying, neither of them with anything to say.

She was pretty; there was no denying that, she was beautiful in fact, Skulduggery had obviously noticed, it was hard not to, with her stunning black hair and dark eyes, which contrasted perfectly with her pale skin. She was tall and very slim, and she had even developed some nice curves over the past few years, and that along with the muscle tone her training gave her ended in her having an almost perfect body, only a fool wouldn't notice her.

But of all the times Skulduggery had noticed these things over the past few years, not once had his thoughts been romantic. In fact, he'd never even considered the idea, she was Valkyrie, his partner, the little 12 year old girl he'd saved that first night, the girl who saved the world countless times, who'd risked the faceless ones to bring him back to this world, the girl who had lived every day of her life knowing that at any time she could destroy the world, but not once had he thought of her as anything more than a friend.

"I know you think we could work," He said finally, "But you're letting your emotions cloud your judgement. I'm sorry for not noticing sooner and discouraging you, but apparently I'm not as good at reading people as I thought I was, and I really am sorry for that, but you need to understand that you and I can't work Valkyrie." She stared at him, her expression barely changing. "There are too many things in the way, and…I don't return your feelings, I love you like a friend, I've known you since you were twelve, I just don't have romantic thoughts about you."

She studied him for a moment through her tears, her eyes scanning his blank skull, as though searching for something, what that was exactly he didn't know, but she soon spoke up again. "Have you tried?"

"Pardon?"

She looked at him blankly. "I said, have you tried? You're just assuming, but have you even once sat down and considered it? "

When he didn't answer she seemed satisfied and continued. "You say now that it couldn't work, and I know I all those things bother you and I don't blame you for that, but please, I want you to at least think about it."

He shook his head. "I don't want to promise you things and then get your hopes up, even if I did sit down and consider having a relationship with you, it wouldn't make a difference."

She growled, a frustrated noise, and for a moment he was surprised, but soon realised it was aimed at herself not him. "That's not what I meant, I don't want you to consider being with me that's not what I'm asking. All I want you to do, is actually try and see if you could have romantic feelings for me, I'm not asking you to do it now, I'm just asking you to do it. And if you don't think you could ever feel anything for me then I promise I'll never mention it again."

He started to shake his head, but she grabbed his arm and her tears flowed faster and she looked at him, her eyes filled with desperation. "Please," She whispered, "Please just do it for me, I…" She glanced away. He knew she was embarrassed to have him know her feelings, but obviously she was putting her pride second to her feelings for him. "I really do love you." Her voice broke on the word love. "I love you, and I can't stand to just pretend this never happened without you even giving it a second thought, I need this Skulduggery."

She took a shaky breath to try and calm herself down, and she let go of his arm. "And I promise you that if you don't change your mind I will pretend this never happened, we can go back to the way we were, I'll force myself to get over my feelings for you, and you'll never have to worry about it again."

He stared at her for what felt like a life time, before finally he nodded. "Alright, give me time, and I'll think about it, but I'm not promising anything. My feelings are the way they are." A voice in the back of his head told him he was a fool, but how bad could it really be? And really, what were the chances that just thinking about it would make him feel things he obviously didn't feel? He felt relatively positive that he could spend the next week thinking about them, and still wouldn't develop romantic feelings for her. Although he had been wrong before…

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><p><strong>So what did you think? <strong>

**I apologise if it was crap, I will admit it's not my best work, but this is my first real attempt at Valduggery, so bear with me. It was a bit sad, yes, but it was needed, because for this i just don't see Skulduggery taking to the idea of them being together straight away, even if I do think they flirt like crazy in the books. **

**It can only get better from here, and reviews encourage me, so you know what to do. **

**Virtual cookie to the first reviewer! (^_^)O See, there it is, right in that things hand there, I know you want it. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys. **

**So the first thing I'm going to say is, I really think this chapter is worth the wait, it's my favourite so far. And I bet you're going to love it.**

**It isn't completely neccisary, but I wrote the second half (from Skulduggery's point of view) listening to the song Candles (the glee version not the hey monday version) on repeat, and I suggest you also listen on repeat while you read, to get the full effect. But as I said, you don't have to, you just should.**

**Also, I wrote this chapter about 5 times, before I got it right, so this version was a bit rushed, but I think it's perfect. Sorry for any grammatical isssues, but I;m sure it;s worth it for how good it is. I hope.**

**Read, enjoy, and review. **

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><p>Valkyrie's mother got to the house not long after their awkward confrontation, and she was glad for the distraction. Skulduggery vanished upstairs while Valkyrie invited her mum in for some tea. Had he kept his façade up it wouldn't have mattered, but she didn't want her mother to think she was a slut, so she had sent him upstairs.<p>

They sat and talked for about half an hour, and multiple times Valkyrie was asked if she was okay. So apparently she wasn't as good at hiding her pain as she thought. But after a lot of reassuring her mother there was nothing wrong, the woman finally gave up and left not long after, taking little Sarah with her. She waved until the car disappeared and then closed the heavy wooden door, leaning her head against it.

She didn't hear Skulduggery walking down the stairs, but she felt the disturbance in the air, and almost smiled. "Do you remember the first time we met properly, you knocked this door right off it's hinges."

When he spoke she could hear the smile in his voice. "Yes, it's a good sturdy door, took a lot to take it down."

"Good thing you did, I'd probably be dead if you hadn't, but you have a habit of showing up just in time to save me don't you?"

"What can I say, I'm much too perfect for my own good, if I'd just learn to be late for once I would have been rid of your annoying chatter years ago."

She chuckled and shook her head against the door, turning so she was leaning back against it. Skulduggery walked over slowly and leaned beside her, their arms just barely touching. Any other day and this would have meant nothing but an accelerated heart beat for her, but today it was more, it was both awkward and comfortable, and she was more aware then ever how attracted to him she was.

"Thank you."

He turned his head slightly to look at her. "For what?"

She shrugged. "For saving me, for being my best friend, for always being there when I need you." She let out a long, slow breath, letting it relax her. "Thank you for being you."

He didn't say anything, he didn't need to, they just stood together in silence, her words hanging in the air between them, along with her feelings, his hesitation, the unspoken connection between them, the one she wanted to take further. There was so much, and yet so little, she didn't know how it was possible, but it was.

"Can I stay with you for a few days?" She asked eventually, her voice quiet, but still somehow as loud as a gunshot in the silence that had been growing between them.

"Why?"

"I need to get away for a few days. I need some time away from this house, to get my thought's in order… to heal enough that I can defend myself. And I don't want to do it here." She didn't if he would say yes or no. She always stayed at his house after a case when she was too tired to come home, but it was different now, he knew about her feelings, he might find it too awkward to have her there.

He thought about for a few minutes before he inclined his head in a small nod. "Okay, that's fine with me, go pack a bag and I'll call a taxi."

She stared at him oddly, and it took him a few seconds to understand her confusion. "You might recall that my Bentley is a little out of order at the moment?" She could hear the sorrow in his voice, and almost instantly remembered what had happened to the Bentley. She nodded, keeping her smile from her face until she was upstairs. Sometimes she thought he loved that car more than himself, and that was saying something.

She packed quickly, grabbing things she thought she might, or would need. Underwear, clothes, toothbrush, hairbrush, (she already had skulduggery's bathroom stocked with soaps and shampoo's), pyjamas, tampons (though she shuddered at the idea of needing them while staying with Skulduggery), her phone and a few other things she chucked in at the last minute in case she needed them.

When she got downstairs Skulduggery took her bag from her and hung it over his shoulder, for which she was grateful, holding it had been tugging at her cuts, which were aching, and she wouldn't have asked him for help if he hadn't taken it. Her pride was a bad thing sometimes. "The taxi should be here any minute." He explained as he opened the door for her, locking behind them and pulling it shut. "And I called a tow truck to take the Bentley to get repaired."

"Okay." She replied simply as they walked down the drive to the large gates. They had to wait only for a few minutes before the taxi got there, and before she knew it they were at Skulduggery's place. He carried her bag inside for her and sat it on the fold out couch in the living room. The house had barely changed much in the past few years, he had put a bedroom in upstairs, although Valkyrie mostly tended to sleep on the couch in the living room, it was much more comfortable, and old habits die hard.

He wandered off back into the hall, off to do god only knows what, and she slid her coat off, dropping onto the ground before continuing over to the couch. She slid her bag onto the ground and laid down, sighing contentedly. She like it here, the house was relaxing and quiet, the couch comfortable and familiar, and generally safe. It was one thing to attack them at the mansion, but it would take a lot of guts for someone to attack the Skeleton Detective in his own home, and all those who tried had learned their lesson.

When Skulduggery entered the room again, about ten minutes later, he picked her coat up from the floor, like he always did, and folded it as he walked over to his arm chair. He had ditched his overcoat, and his suit jacket as well, leaving him in his long sleeve shirt, which was rolled to the elbows, showing off his ulna and radius, which were just as white as always. His gloves remained on. No surprises there.

"Are you ever going to learn to fold your coat yourself?"

"Are you ever going to stop picking it up for me if I keep leaving it there?"

"Probably not."

"Then why learn?" She chuckled and stared at the white roof above her.

"To be polite perhaps, or maybe because you're a young lady and should throw your clothes around like a slob."

She shrugged, showing his attempt at insulting her hadn't worked. "I'm a teenager, it's what I do."

"You're eighteen now, that makes you an adult, remember?"

"Eight-teen, Skulduggery, notice the word teen in there."

"So I should treat you like a teenager instead of an adult then?"

She said up and glared at him, though she knew she shouldn't be surprised by his words. "Don't turn my words around on me, your argument is irrelevant."

"Oh and why is that."

She flopped back down and ignored the sting in her arms. "I don't know, just is. Hey do you have any food in the fridge, or am I going to need to go shopping?"

"I haven't brought anything since the last time you were here, but I think there's some canned food that will still be fine to eat."

"Okay."

"Do you need me here to entertain you, or can I leave? I have a report to write."

"Leave here or leave this room?" She asked, trying not to let her concern about being left alone show.

"Leave the room, I'll just be in the office."

She nodded, relieved, and she was sure he knew it too. "Okay, I think I'll just take a nap. Wake me up if you need me." He rolled over as she spoke, facing the back of the couch, and away from the bright window, though the light still got to her face.

"Are you sure you don't want to go upstairs to the bedroom?"

"I'm fine here, it's just a nap, I'm not actually sleeping."

She heard him chuckle, and then the noise of the blinds falling as he closed them for her. She smiled as the light was replaced by darkness. "I don't even know why I bought that bed, you never use it, and I think you'll find taking a nap does count as sleeping."

"No, when I sleep, I'll use the bed, when I nap I'll use the couch." She yawned and closed her eyes. "Now go away, your ego is keeping me awake."

She heard him walk across the room and then he was gone. She smiled slightly to herself, feeling a lot happier and more comfortable now that she was here, and drifted off into sleep.

Skulduggery sighed quietly as his pen scratched across the paper in front of him. This report was taking much longer to write than he expected, and if he was being honest with himself he just couldn't focus on his work, he was too preoccupied with everything that had happened today. He dropped his pen and looked out of the office window, it was dark outside now, Valkyrie had been asleep for a few hours, and he had been trying not to think about her for a few hours, unsuccessfully.

How was he supposed to react to everything he had learned? He had known her since she was 12 years old, just a small girl eager for excitement and adventure, and much more mature than any normal 12 year old should be. But of course, that was a good thing, he wouldn't have taken any random 12 year old as his partner, but the fact still remained that he had known her since she was a child, how was he meant to just forget about that?

He could see her now for what she was, a beautiful young woman, and the more he thought about it the more he knew it was true. She was more beautiful than she knew; she was tall and slim, her hair was long and dark, shiny and sleek, her features soft and her skin clear of blemishes, her eyes were dark and lips nicely shaped. Yes, he knew she was beautiful, he couldn't deny that, just like he couldn't deny that he found her attractive. He was a man after all, wasn't that expected?

But just because he knew she was attractive didn't mean he could be interested in her romantically, she was Valkyrie, his partner, his best friend (not that he'd ever tell Ghastly that), he'd watched her grow up, he'd taught her to fight and learn magic, he'd been supportive when she dated fletcher, watched out for her when she was with that stupid vampire, and he'd even attempted to give her "the talk", well, more so that he asked her if she knew how to be safe and told her she didn't need to feel pressured into anything by an older boy, and then she'd thrown her shoe at him, it had been an interesting experience.

He leaned back in his chair and put his gloved hands behind his head. He just didn't know what to do. He knew just the fact that he was attracted to her meant something, but was it possible to feel something for her more than affection and an appreciation for her appearance? He sighed again and leaned forward to pick up his pen in another attempt to finish his report. His fingers hovered just above the pen as he heard a noise from the living room.

He turned to look, wondering if Valkyrie had called him, but when he heard the noise again he knew she wasn't even awake. He pushed his chair back and walked into the room, and was instantly saddened by what he saw. Valkyrie was crying in her sleep, her expression one of fear as she shifted restlessly, whimpering at whatever it was that haunted her dreams.

Nightmares weren't uncommon for Valkyrie, often when she slept on his couch he would see her move or hear her whimper, he never told her he saw this, everyone had their demons, and she had seen so much more than a girl her age should have to see. But this was different, now she was crying, and she was clearly terrified and in pain, and he couldn't only imagine what she was dreaming of.

He knelt down by the side of the lounge and rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Shhh, it's just a dream." He muttered quietly, his other hand moving to her hair, stroking it slowly in an attempt to calm her. "I'm here, nothing's going to hurt you." He didn't know what she would say if she woke up and caught him doing this, but he didn't like to see her in pain, especially knowing it was his fault, his fault for not stopping whatever was bad enough for her to dream about.

After a few minutes of this she finally calmed down, her sleep becoming more peaceful, and although he knew he should return to his work, he didn't, instead he sat on the carpet and leaned back against the couch, her arm pressing lightly against his spine through his shirt. How could one small kiss do this to him, turn his usually well organised mind into disarray? He wrapped his arms around his knees and rested his head against his arms.

Could he develop romantic feelings for her? He didn't know. When he thought about it, really thought about it, he thought that maybe it might be possible, but didn't he care for her to much to do that to her? Even if he did, how could he act on those feelings? How could he do that to her? Sure, she thought this was what she wanted, she thought she loved him, but as far as he was concerned it had to be temporary, the kind of crush a teenager got on an older mentor because they were someone to look up to and admire.

And he was dead. Dead and a skeleton, how could she really want to be with him? People would judge her; he didn't care about what people thought of him, but what about her? Their friends would think he was sick for being with her, and they'd think she was crazy and stupid for wanting him. He could never give her all the things a normal man could give her, the things she deserved, and would probably end up wanting.

And yet, she must have considered all this already. It was clear she had been thinking about this for a long time, enough time for her to think of everything. She wasn't stupid after all, not the kind of girl to not think something this big through. If he had his façade on he would have frowned. Why was thinking about it this way? Like he had already decided he wanted to be with her and was trying to convince himself not to? It wasn't like that was it? How was he supposed to know?

How was he meant to know how he felt?

"Skulduggery?" He jumped in surprise and coughed, turning to look at her, suddenly glad he wasn't wearing a face, because he wouldn't have been able to keep it blank. Valkyrie stared back at him, her face curious, and her eyes awake. Obviously she had been awake for a while, and had only just decided to tell him.

Damn, how long had he been sitting there for?

"What are you doing?" She asked, and there was no suspicion in her tired voice, just curiosity. Clearly she could not think of a good reason for why he would be sitting where he was, the way he was.

"You got restless." He admitted, unable to think of a genius lie like he would have any other day. He couldn't even think of a joke right now. What was wrong with him? "I think you were having a bad dream." He shrugged, trying to play it off and not embarrass her. "I sat with you to calm you down and lost track of time."

Despite his attempts her cheeks still turned a cute shade of pink at his words. Internally he was frowning again. Since when did he consider her blush cute?

"Oh uh… thanks…" She ducked her face behind her hair and shifted into a sitting position, pulling her feet up so he could move onto the couch. He wasn't overly uncomfortable where he was, but he moved anyway, sitting where her feet had been.

She narrowed her eyes at him as he sat stiffly, and he quickly tried to act more comfortable, but it was impossible with the way his thoughts were going. He didn't want it to be true, he knew it would be better for both of them if things stayed the way they were, and yet looking at her now, and after the kiss they shared, he knew things could never be the same. That kiss had changed everything. He had thought badly, but now… he wasn't sure.

"What's wrong?" She asked, in that voice of hers that demanded an answer.

"Nothing Valkyrie, I'm just thinking. Something geniuses like me do, you wouldn't understand." She punched him on the arm and glared at him, her expression one of determination and annoyance. Well, he wouldn't be getting out of this one then, not with his thoughts so jumbled, he didn't have it in him to even try being clever.

He made a noise of annoyance and sat back, leaning against the back of the couch, his foot tapping in frustration, and his empty eye sockets trained on her face, studying her, wondering what he could say. How had this happened? "I just… I'm a little confused right now." He said slowly. He wasn't used to having to explain himself to her, not like this, not about feelings.

After a moment comprehension spread onto her face and she shifted, her eyes now more cautious and curious, obviously she was worried. He laughed internally bitterly, as if she had anything to worry about, she was much too attractive, physically and personality wise, for her own good. No man could resist her, and he didn't even know why he had tried.

This conversation was not going to be easy, but be he couldn't ignore his feelings now, feelings he didn't even know he possessed until she had reached into him with an iron fist and yanked them to the surface. He chuckled and she frowned at him. That was just like her too, so demanding and strong as she was, she could never just sit by without making everyone feel something for her, whether it be love or intense hate, it was always something.

He now knew the answer to his question; could he feel something romantic for her? Yes, he could. It had come to him so suddenly he was still so confused about it, but he knew it was there. But the real challenge now, was whether he should act on it or not.

"You thought about what I asked?" She broke the silence, her voice guarded.

"I did." He shifted uncomfortably, and her eyes instantly closed up a little. So she took his discomfort as rejection?

"A-and?" She forced out, and he could almost laugh, it sounded as though finding out what he thought was the last thing she wanted.

"I am… unsure about what I feel." He glanced away, but forced himself to look back straight away. "I care for you Valkyrie, I do, and after thinking about it, I know my feelings could be more than simple affection, but that doesn't mean the feelings are right."

She stayed quiet, waiting for him to continue, though the spark of hope in her eyes made him want to pull her close and embrace her, a feeling that felt so alien, and yet so right. "You're still so young, your growth hasn't even slowed yet, you're still ageing at a normal pace, your barely out of childhood. I'm old, I'm over 400 years old. The things I'm feeling… I feel like I'm some kind of creeper, preying on an innocent young girl who doesn't know any better."

She opened her mouth to argue, like she always did, but he held up his hand to get her stop. "I don't even fully understand the way I'm feeling, or if I'm even feeling what I think I am, I just know it's not the same as it was before. I look at you now, and I'm seeing a whole new side of you, a side of you that's making me feel something I haven't felt in years."

She let out a small, choked sob, and covered her mouth with her hand, and for a moment he thought she was upset, but then he saw the smile in her eyes as she tried to keep back her sobs and tears. It made his non-existent heart swell. He clenched and unclenched his fists. He still didn't know what to do, how should he react, what was his decision. Should he do what was right and break her heart, and his own, or should he give in and make them both happy, knowing that what he was doing was wrong?

"I still don't know If I can be with you though Valkyrie. You have to understand that… I may care for you a lot, but being with you would be wrong, it's not right for you, I'm not right for you, I just want you to be happy, and if that means hurting myself then maybe it's worth it, if it means you get to live a good life."

God, how could his heart hurt his much when he didn't even have one? He hadn't been this upset in so long, he had been sad, but now he felt like he was stabbing himself through the chest with something sharp. Why did it hurt this much, hadn't he only just realised his feelings for her? It didn't make sense that doing what was right would hurt so much.

"No," She said through her tears, shaking her head. She grabbed his hand before he could pull it back. "You are right for me, more than anyone." She spoke through the flood of tears running down her face, and she was still smiling, looking into his eye sockets like she could see into his soul. "Don't you get that Skulduggery? I love you. I love you so much, and I want to be with you, not with some stupid guy who doesn't care about me. You're… you're everything to me… I can't be without you."

He didn't know what to say, he was feeling to many things, things he didn't understand, and things he did, and both of them scared him.

"You're all I can think about, all day, all night, life when I'm not around you is so boring. I live for the time I spend with you. You're funny and charming, and you dress better than me." She laughed through her tears, her smile loving. "You're a gentleman, you care about me more than any of my friends and most of my family, your voice makes me weak in the knee's, you've saved my life more times than I can count, and skeleton or not, you're more of a man than anyone else I know."

Skulduggery stared. Did she really think all of that about him? He couldn't doubt her words, they were so sincere, so full of feeling no one on earth could doubt them, and yet this moment was just between them, no one else to hear the beautiful words she had just spoken, to hear the love and emotion in her voice.

He felt like he had been blind for so long, and Valkyrie had suddenly given him back his sight, giving him the chance the see the world again.

"Let me show you, please?" He wanted to say no, wanted to tell her they couldn't be, he wanted to do what was right, hurt himself to save her, but he couldn't speak, just stared at her, his empty chest cavity aching.

She shifted so she was in front of him, smiling, her tears still flowing, but her eyes bright and dark, two thinks that should never be able to go together, but somehow did. She leaned forward, and he begged himself to move away. He leaned back a little, but didn't actually move away, she hesitated for a moment, but then she kept going forward, her eyes on him, begging him to give her the chance.

He clenched his fingers tightly, she got closer, her eyes closed, cutting off his view from their beautiful dark colour. _Move away, _he told himself, _move away, do it for her. _He stayed where he was, her lips were almost touching him. His hands shifted to her arms. She inhaled sharply, pausing for a second, giving him control, making the decision his. His fingers tightened on her arms, how could he do it. He squeezed slightly; he moved to push her away, shifting her minutely backwards.

And then he pulled her forward.

Her lips touched his teeth, soft, warm, smooth. He shuddered and pulled her forward more, his fingers tighter than they should be. It felt so good. She made a small noise, moved her lips slightly against his teeth, and he moaned, a sound of need, and despair, pain and love, everything he was feeling. Oh god, it was so much better than he could have ever imagined. She gripped the front of his shirt, her fingers twisted in the fabric and pulled slightly, her breathing heavy as she kissed him.

He tried to kiss her back, it was hard, but he didn't care, all he could feel was her, the way she was touching him, the way he felt like he was going to explode, her smell, the sounds of her quiet moans, and then she was gone, and it was over.

Skulduggery didn't need to breath, but he found himself panting now, he'd let go of her arms when she'd moved back, and now he gripped the fabric of the couch, his chest moving with each breath. Valkyrie wasn't fairing much better. He breathing was much faster than his own, her cheeks bright red, her eyes a little unfocused, her hands now clutching her own shirt, as though she might lose herself if she didn't have something to hold onto.

He loved her. That was the moment he knew for sure. There was no way he could not be with her now, he loved her more than he had ever loved anybody, he had never felt like this, and he didn't want to lose her. Not now. He wouldn't… he couldn't.

"Oh god." She moaned quietly, closing her eyes for a moment as she tried to catch her breath, her fingers twisting in her shirt. "Oh my god."

Skulduggery calmed himself down and let go of the couch, watching her as she attempted to get control of everything she was feeling.

She took a deep breath and shuddered slightly before she opened her dark, deep eyes and looked at him again, and if he had a face he would have blushed at the lust in her eyes.

"Please…" she breathed, "Please tell me you felt something." Her chest was still heaving a little, but she was doing her best to speak calmly.

He chuckled; of course he had felt something. How could he not have? This kiss had been so much more intense than the last tone, so different, it wasn't a surprise, his was close and personal, he knew her feelings before this one, and now he knew his own. He tried to speak but found he couldn't. He laughed breathlessly and leaned back against the couch. Could a skeleton feel aroused? Was that was he was feeling now? This ache, this need he felt for her?

He looked at her, his skull tilted to the side a little as he took her in, took in everything that had changed in one day, as he felt, and accepted his new emotions, watched the lust fade away a little, but not completely leave. "Yes." He finally breathed.

And now there was no turning back, he couldn't now. Not after that, it just wasn't possible. "Yes I did."

* * *

><p><strong>So, what did you think? I really worried about writing the second half from Skulduggery's point of view, but after all those attempts from Valkyrie's point of view I knew it was the only way to go.<strong>

**I hope I didn't butcher it. But seriously, don't you love me for FINALLY, giving you the Valduggery?**

**Haha review and let me know what you think please. Review make me happy (plus I gave up study for my exam next week to finish this chapter) **


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